Ranma 1/2 and AMG: The Truth About Kasumi
by Gray
Summary: When Mrs. Tendo died, she made a wish, now many years later, Kasumi hides a secret. Not your typical AMG+Ranma! Added the epilogue! Please R+R!
1. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own AMG! Or Ranma, damn it, the respective creators do. So there, my best disclaimer yet eh?

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**Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!**

# The Truth About Kasumi

## By Gray, for anyone who puts others before themselves

Rumiko Tendo lay in her bed, a sad expression marring her normally cheerful face. In truth, her face had lost its cheer when she had heard the news. She had barely a week left to live. It was a shock of course, but she was not afraid for herself. No, she was scared for her daughters. Growing up without a Mother was something no one should have to go through. It was positively awful. She knew as her own had died when she was a little older than Nabiki was now. Her two daughters were not ready for this. As these thoughts whirled in her head, she detected a sound emanating from a wall to the side of her. Glancing over, she almost fell out of bed in shock. There was a girl's head sticking out of her mirror!

"Excuse me, may I come in?" The girl asked in a polite tone. She looked barely eleven Rumiko nodded wordlessly. The girl seemed to float out of the mirror, gradually revealing the rest of her body, and Rumiko noted that she had on very beautiful, if a bit odd-looking clothing, and three marks on her flawless face. The young girl smiled kindly and introduced herself.

"Greetings Rumiko Tendo! I am the Goddess Belldandy, second class, second category, limited, and I am here to grant you a wish!" Rumiko absorbed that information but could not respond. She was still a bit overwhelmed after all. Belldandy continued to smile and spoke again.

"Because of your good qualities, and your kind heart, you have been selected to receive exactly one wish, and therefore can have anything your heart desires!" Rumiko was still in shock but believed this girl. She just seemed too nice to lie, plus the fact that she phased out of a mirror and floated helped to convince Rumiko of the validity of her claim. Finally Rumiko spoke.

"So, I can have anything I want?" Belldandy nodded, still smiling.

"Yes, you may even wish for your condition to be cured!" Belldandy's face lost some of its cheerfulness at the mention of Rumiko's condition.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Rumiko smiled and shook her head.

"It's quite alright dear…" Belldandy nodded in a relieved way.

"I'm glad…" Rumiko then thought for a moment. She could have anything she wanted, even cure her condition. She thought about that, Rumiko was a religious woman. She wore a small cross around her neck and believed in God. She also believed that certain things happened for a reason, even bad things, and that is how she viewed her condition. It would be going against fate to cure it, and the ramifications could be severe, but to leave her poor daughters without a Mother… or even some sort of guiding figure to turn to… She realized what she had to do.

"Um, Belldandy was it? I think I've made my decision…" Belldandy nodded her head.

"You have? Well then, what would you desire?" Rumiko sighed sadly and replied.

"I wish, that someone like yourself would help to guide my two daughters, and take care of my home after I pass on…" Belldandy blinked, before the mark on her forehead brightened and glowed with a blue light, and a pillar of said blue light exploded up into the sky. After a moment of this, the light died out, and Belldandy smiled at Rumiko.

"Wish…Approved…"

"Damn it Pop! How dare you choose my own fiancée for me!" A young girl screams at a panda walking beside her in an enraged voice. The panda, much to the various spectators' surprise, pulls a sign from… somewhere, and scribbles some words on it. The words read:

"It's a matter of honor boy! Don't you dare defy this!" The girl snarls and lunges at the panda, slamming a foot into its face, and then standing on its head for several moments, before leaping off and turning her back to it.

"Fine old man, I'll go along with this for now, but it's only for honor, not for your greedy stomach…" She then trudged forward, ignoring the ecstatic, albeit slightly bruised, panda beside her.

"But I am going to go back to China and cure this damn curse very soon…" 

At the Tendo dojo in Nerima Ward, the young woman known as Kasumi Tendo was busily preparing some tea in the kitchen. She knew that her "Father" was very nervous right now, and she hoped that a little green tea would relax him a bit. She then heard him yell for her and her sisters, and quietly entered the living room. Soun was already seated, and Akane and Nabiki were entering. She noted that Akane was in a gi, while Nabiki was dressed in a fairly nice kimono. Soun began to speak.

"Many years ago, I trained under an evil perverted master who forced upon me unspeakable acts to accomplish. The only person I had to turn to was my best friend in the world, and fellow student at the time, one Genma Saotome. Saotome and I trained for a long time under the old master, before we managed to escape his terrible clutches. We went our separate ways, and soon got married. About a year before Kasumi was born, we promised that should one of us have a son, and the other a daughter, then the two would marry and thus unite the clans. This was a solemn promise of great importance, sworn upon our honor. Now, Saotome is bringing his son, Ranma, here today, to hopefully become engaged to one of you. If one of you were to marry Ranma, then the Tendo and Saotome line would be secure…" The girls sat in silence for the entire amount of time that Soun spoke, and after he was done, they remained silent for several more moments, before Akane sprang to her feet.

"No way! There is no way that any of us are going to marry some perverted boy!" Kasumi spoke next.

"Father, isn't a bit late to tell us this? If he is coming today, you probably should have told us at least a few days in advance…" Soun laughed nervously.

"Yes well…" Nabiki sighed.

"Look, is he at least cute? I doubt he's rich, but if he's cute then it wouldn't be so bad…" Kasumi looked at Nabiki and chastised her.

"Nabiki! What have I told you about that? A person's financial status or physical looks don't matter! It's the kindness of their soul that counts!" Nabiki looked a little ashamed.

"Yeah, yeah, um, I'm sorry…" Kasumi smiled at her.

"That's alright…" Akane growled in anger.

"There is no way I'm going to let some boy, just waltz in here and marry one of us! He probably isn't even that good at the art!" Soun coughed.

"Actually, from what I here, he is quite good. He did cross into China recently, and Saotome always was the better of the two of us…" Akane growled again and sat down with a huff. Kasumi despaired. It was amazing how someone who hated boys so much could act like one so well. She wished there was something she could do, but there wasn't much; still it was her duty to guide Nabiki and Akane… She snapped out of her daze when she heard Soun speak again.

"They should be here any moment…" The sound of people entering the gate of the Tendo property was heard and Kasumi hastily got to her feet, and went to greet their guests. What she saw was a panda and red-haired girl regarding her with some embarrassment.

"Oh my…"

After this, things proceed as normal, with Ranma becoming Akane's fiancée, mainly because "Kasumi" feels that he would be a good influence on her, as she sees that he has a good heart. The story picks up shortly after Saffron and the failed wedding…

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Kasumi sighed sadly. The wedding had failed, and with it, went her hopes of those two ever getting married. She had been hopeful that the two would admit that they loved each other, but they, especially Ranma, seemed reluctant to do so. She then thought of the final battle against Saffron, which she had viewed using her powers…

"He killed a god… that should not be possible for a mortal to do…" But then, everything Ranma did defied the impossible. From being the first person to keep their sanity to some degree after the cat-fist training, to defeating scores of the most powerful martial artists in the world, Ranma Saotome was one who never let anyone, including fate, beat him. While it was true that Saffron was a lower god, and one who did not even reside in Heaven like the rest of them, the fact remained that if he wanted to, he could annihilate a city. And somehow, a young man of barely 18 years had beaten him… The thought was mind-boggling, and went against everything Kasumi had ever been taught in her old life. She noticed that Akane was storming into the house, and hastily made way. She walked up to her room, and slammed the door shut with a resounding boom that shook the house. Honestly, one would think that after turning eighteen, she could control her temper a bit more, but such was not the case evidently. Kasumi sighed. Her job was so hard sometimes, but it was her duty after all…

Ranma swore as he rubbed his aching head. 

"She didn't have to get that mad…" He muttered. As he was walking home from school, Shampoo (the annoying bimbo) had come and glomped onto him with such force that he had fallen off the fence and landed on the sidewalk, right next to a very pissed Akane. He soon found himself at ground zero of the A-bomb, that is, the Akane bomb… He winced as the pain intensified slightly. He sighed sadly and gazed out at the slowly setting sun from his spot on the Tendo roof, its presence comforting him. He wished that he and Akane could get along. They were fiancés after all. But both were much too stubborn for their own good. 

"It doesn't help that she never trusts me…" He mused. She had not been his first choice to be honest. Back when he had first arrived at the Tendo home, he had been awestruck by how kind the eldest sister seemed. She simply radiated beauty and warmth on an almost divine level, and then she rejected him and pushed Akane into being his fiancée… He sighed again, this time from past pain, and gazed at the now barely visible sun. Yes, Kasumi would make whomever she eventually married very happy indeed. 

"And that will probably be Tofu, he thought to himself. Or maybe some other nice, calm guy." This thought saddened him for some reason, and he banished it from his mind. He then heard a voice to the side of him, and glanced in its direction. He saw Kasumi climbing up onto the roof with a ladder, and padding over to sit by him. He smiled slightly, though he was somewhat surprised to be honest. Although it was a pleasant sort of surprise. She sat in silence for several moments, just looking out at the horizon with him, before she spoke.

"I'm sorry you and Akane had another fight Ranma…" He sighed sadly and bowed his head.

"Yeah, me too Kasumi…" She turned to him and smiled hesitantly. She needed to cheer him up.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't blame you like everyone else does…" He looked up at her in wonder. She blushed slightly and looked down. A smile slowly blossomed on his face, causing her breathing to quicken.

"Thanks Kasumi, it does make me feel better…" He smiled widely at her, his deep blue eyes shining with thanks. She blushed more and looked away to hide it.

"You-you're welcome, Ranma…" He smiled and looked out at the now fully set sun. The sky had finally turned to night, and he marveled at the many stars. It reminded him of when he had been on the training trip, and how he always felt that the stars were his only friends. They never left him, and he never had to leave them like his other few friends. And now they twinkled at him merrily with promises of things to come. Feeling a lot better, Ranma turned once more to Kasumi and grinned in his usual almost cocky way.

"Thanks Kasumi, I needed that…" He then let himself fall off the roof, twisting and catching the edge of his window at the last moment, and flipping himself into it with one arm. She giggled slightly at the feat and smiled.

"You're welcome, showoff…" After making sure no one was looking, she walked off the roof herself and simply stopped in mid-air and levitated the last few feet down, something that made Ranma's feat pale in comparison, although both were quite impressive. She then headed into the house, and up above, the stars continued to shine.

The next day Ranma awoke with a smile on his face. Which was odd, because normally the young man was quite troubled and almost as depressed as Ryouga Hibiki, though he hid it much better, putting on an arrogant and cheerful front to mask his sorrow. But today, today he was genuinely happy. The reason was because for the first time he could remember, someone honestly tried to understand his side of the many problems in his life. He was still waiting for hell to freeze over… After dealing with his various morning activities, Ranma bounded outside to fight his Father. Easily beating the old man, he then sat down for a delicious breakfast made by the very person whom he owed his current happiness to. Only to find Akane Tendo, his fiancée, bringing out a pot filled with god knew what. It bubbled and frothed much like the cauldron of a witch, and the noxious stench that arose from its depths was enough to almost make Ranma pass out from one smell. 

"Man, Saffron's fire blasts were less deadly then that!" He thought as he desperately looked for an available escape. He then turned to the smiling Akane, who dropped the big pot unceremoniously onto the table, causing some to spill out and, to Ranma's disbelief, burn a small hole through the wood. Gulping, he nervously turned to Akane and asked timidly.

"Um, gee Akane, where's Kasumi?" She smiled, unaware of the reason why he was asking.

"Oh, Oneechan said we needed some soy sauce and decided to make a quick trip to the store to get some." Akane then frowned.

"Although she's been gone an awfully long time. Could something have happened to her?" Ranma seized the opportunity like a drowning man would a life preserver.

"Oh! Well I had better go look for her then. After all, who knows? Something terrible might have happened to her!" He was out the door before Akane could even respond.

"Baka…" She muttered.

Ranma tore down the street towards the market, leaping up onto the fence and sprinting along it for several moments before flipping off and landing about a block away from the market.

"Good thing I got out of there when I did. I don't really want to die quite this young after all!" He walked up to the front of the store, and noticed something amiss.

"Hey, that's Kasumi's shopping bag! What's it doing here?" He wondered as he picked it up and examined it for a moment. His head snapped up as he heard a loud explosion come from down the street. With a sense of growing dread, Ranma raced to where the sound came from. Turning a corner, he was shocked to see a large crater in the street. There was a laughing man dressed in a leather jacket and pants. His hand smoked and Ranma felt the sheer evil wafting off of him. His eyes widened however when he saw who was facing off against him. It was Kasumi. She had a determined look on her face, and Ranma could see that amazingly enough, her hands were glowing with power. It felt different than the ki energy he used, but he could tell that it was still very strong and potent. He and the other spectators heard Kasumi speak.

"Leave now demon, or I'm afraid that I will have to get violent…" He could tell that Kasumi did not want to fight, but it was obvious that she didn't have much choice. She called the man a demon, and judging by the fact that he radiated enough power to give Saffron a good fight, Ranma agreed with her. The demon sneered.  
" Hmmf, it was fortunate that I ran into you! When I heard reports that one of "your" kind was living as a mortal here on earth, I didn't believe it. But seeing you here, and feeling your aura which you mask so well, I can tell that those reports were accurate." He then held up a fist burning with flames.

"Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't eradicate you here and now, especially since you're cut off from your cohorts, and are a first class. Getting rid of you would give me quite a promotion." Kasumi's gaze hardened.

"You seem to forget about the doublet system demon. If I die, then so does one of your own…" The demon laughed, and it was not a pleasant sound.

"Bah, you think I care? Unlike the other demons, I could care less whether your death kills another of my kind. After all, the ends justify the means…" He grinned evilly at Kasumi's shocked face and brought the burning fist back slightly.

"Now, enough talk! I will destroy you Goddess! For my name is Brahm! Demon first class, first category, unlimited!" Ranma's eyes widened.  
"Goddess!?" Brahm brought his fist forward, throwing out a massive blast of white-hot fire. Ranma watched as Kasumi closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, and just as the flame was about to hit her, a large glowing wall appeared in front of her and absorbed the blast. Three marks, one on her forehead and two on the her cheeks glowed with blue light. Brahm grinned.  
"Heh, a shield spell, how cute, but can you keep it up?" He then threw another gout of flame, this one even more powerful, and one again it impacted the shield, although Ranma saw that it was harder for Kasumi to keep the barrier up this time. Brahm continued to toss fire at her, and Kasumi continued to block it, but Ranma saw the strain she was under, and finally decided that he had better do something.

"Damn it, why me?" He wondered as he jumped in front of Kasumi and glared at the demon, who had an incredulous look on his face.

"And what do we have here?" His face became amused.

"A human trying to play hero huh? Well, I know what to do with wannabe heroes…" Brahm grinned and brought both hands forward, throwing a larger blast of heat at Ranma.

"Barbecue them!" Ranma focused his aura into his hand, concentrating on the soul of ice that was his to command, and threw his hand forward. A blast of ki, colder than the snow of Antarctica, erupted from his palm and impacted against the flame blast in mid-air, and then canceled it out. Brahm stared in slack-jawed amazement, and behind him, Kasumi was similarly awed. Ranma regarded Brahm with blue eyes of steel.

"Leave now, or I will show no mercy…" Ranma said coolly. His demeanor in battle had changed a great deal since the battle at Phoenix Mountain. For it was there, that he lost his innocence. Brahm finally closed his jaw, and grit his teeth.

"Hmm, It seems that I underestimated you slightly mortal, but no matter, I have other matters to attend to anyway." He then turned and held up a hand.

"But know that we will meet again, and when we do, I will enjoy burning your flesh to ash and then the goddess after you…" He brought his hand down, and in a puff of smoke, he was gone. Ranma visibly relaxed and blew out a relieved breath. In truth, he was unsure if he could have won that fight. The sheer power emanating from that demon was enough to make him slightly afraid. The only being he could remember facing that had that much strength was of course Saffron, and possibly Herb. He turned to Kasumi and asked if she was alright. She nodded at him wordlessly, and he then turned his attention to the people who had watched the battle.

"Nothing more to see here folks. Go on home…" Slowly they all went their separate ways, and Ranma turned to regard Kasumi once more, who had a sheepish expression on her face.

"I think you have some explaining to do Kasumi…"

Author's Notes: Yet another fic from me. I should really continue my other stories, but I'm afraid this idea just would not go away until I wrote something. And this is the result. I apologize if things are a little confusing now, although I've tried to lessen that as much as possible. I promise that things will be explained better in the next chapter, which should be out soon actually. Anyway, please REVIEW!!! I want to know how you felt about this. I'm afraid I have little experience in writing AMG, so some things may be a little different than the series. To all the AMG fans out there I apologize. If you're wondering why Ranma is so cold in battle, well, I believe that after an event as emotionally taxing as the Saffron fight, Ranma would be forced to grow up quite a bit. Not just for killing someone for the first time, but also from nearly losing Akane, being forced to fight with all his strength and seriousness, and beating a god with his bare hands. It might change a person. I think it forced Ranma to finally start taking fights a little more seriously, as he usually fights in an almost light-hearted manner. Anyway, enough rambling, see you next chapter!


	2. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Same as last time folks…**

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**Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!**

# The Truth About Kasumi

## By Gray

"I think you have some explaining to do Kasumi…" Ranma said calmly as the battle tension finally finished draining out of him. The adrenalin wore off, and he motioned for her to follow him with a hand.

"I think it'd be best if we talked somewhere else though…" She nodded and motioned for him to lead the way. He then leapt up onto a nearby rooftop, and she simply levitated to stand beside him. Grinning slightly, he tensed his leg muscles for another jump.

"Let's see how fast you really are Kasumi! I'll race you to the roof of Furinkan High!" He then sprung from his position and blurred along the rooftops, gaining more and more speed with every second. Kasumi shook her head at his antics and calmly took out a small mirror that she kept with her for emergencies.

Ranma laughed as he raced along the rooftops of Nerima, content in the knowledge that he was in his own territory. The wonderful, exhilarating sky as blue as his own two eyes. Here he was supreme, in the air he had no better. While he had not yet mastered flight, he knew that it could be done, after all, Herb had done it using advanced ki-manipulation, and Ranma knew that in time he could too. But for now he was content to enjoy the fact that he was closer to flight than any other normal human. He glanced behind him and noted that Kasumi was nowhere in sight, and smirked.

"Heh, guess being a Goddess doesn't necessarily mean you're faster than Ranma Saotome, but then, who is?" He thought with a smile. It widened as he saw Furinkan High's clock tower in the near distance. Running out of roof, Ranma simply leapt onto a fence, then to a tree, and finally springing off of that to land on Furinkan's roof. He smirked for about a second before he realized he wasn't alone. A slender hand tapped his shoulder.

"I believe I win…" He whirled around and his jaw dropped. Standing there was Kasumi, who looked like she had been waiting for several minutes.

"No way! I got here in less than ten minutes! How did…" She smiled and walked over to the edge of the roof, staring at the vast expanse of busy little Nerima Ward, the place she had called home for many years, even if it wasn't her real one.

"I believe you wanted an explanation Ranma?" He nodded, unsure of what she was going to say exactly. She took a deep breath, praying to her Father that this wouldn't scare him or make him hate her, and forged ahead.

"You see Ranma, I am not actually Kasumi Tendo…" Ranma gaped for a moment, before his face hardened.

"Then where is the real Kasumi?" He asked with an edge to his voice. She sighed.

"How do I put this? There never was a "real" Kasumi…" Seeing his expression of disbelief, she continued.

" Ten years ago. A woman named Rumiko Tendo made a wish on her deathbed. A young Goddess came and granted her wish that someone just like that Goddess would care for her family when she passed on. Since no one is like another person, the wish was interpreted to mean that the Goddess herself would take care of the Tendo family, and using the power of the Ultimate Force, reality was changed to make it seem that the Tendo family had always had three sisters instead of the original two. The Goddess became the oldest sister and did her best to take care of the Tendo family after Rumiko died." She paused and gauged his reaction to the story. He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.

"So Kasumi Tendo never actually existed…" She shook her head.

"No, I am Kasumi Tendo, but I am also a Goddess…" Ranma nodded and he looked a bit sad.

"I see…" He said simply.

"So, all those kind words, all those caring gazes, were all just an illusion. All this time, Kasumi wasn't even real…" It felt like she had died, and it hurt Ranma more than he could ever imagine. He then looked up at the concerned visage of… whoever this person before him was.

"Would you mind telling me who you are? I mean, what your real name is…" She nodded and closed her eyes. The marks on her face flared up and a flash of light temporarily blinded him. When it cleared, he saw a new woman appear where the form of Kasumi Tendo once stood. She looked about the same age as Kasumi, and had a flawless face, and a kind of beauty that no one he had ever met possessed. It was almost unreal how gorgeous she was. She had eyes that were even more crystal blue than his own, and brown hair a few shades lighter than Kasumi's. She smiled at him.

"I am the Goddess Belldandy, First Class, First Category, Limited…" He stared at her for several long moments, causing her to become embarrassed. He finally got over his shock and spoke up hesitantly.

"So all this time, you were the one cooking our meals, and doing the chores… A Goddess!?" She nodded.

"Yes, it was part of my duty… I had to take care of the Tendo Family, although I came to enjoy it actually, especially when you came…" He looked puzzled.

"Why is that?" She smiled widely at him.

"You were the only one who seemed to honestly appreciate what I did… Even my "sisters" and my "Father" stopped thanking me after a while and seemed to just expect that I take care of everything, though I blame myself for that, and their other faults, particularly with Akane and Nabiki." She bowed her head in sadness, causing her voluminous long hair to cascade along the sides of her head. Ranma for some reason became a little annoyed at her.

"Look, um, Belldandy, I think you're being a little too hard on yourself…" She looked up at him, curiosity written plainly across her face. Ranma grew very embarrassed with her intense, yet friendly, gaze.

"What I mean is, you can't blame yourself for things like, Akane's temper, or Nabiki's scheming. That's just the way they are. You may have been entrusted with uh, taking care of them, but that doesn't mean you can change their personalities… So don't beat yourself up over things that no one, not even a Goddess can fix, besides I think you've done a fine job of taking care of the Tendo's, me, and my Pop… I mean you're the one who keeps that house running, without you, we all probably would have gone insane a long time ago, I know I would have…" He trailed off slightly as he saw her still puzzled expression.

"I'm sorry, I must sound really stupid…" He then watched in awe as her face lit up, enhancing her beauty ten-fold, until he was almost physically hit with just how pretty she became. She then ran over and to his immense surprise, actually hugged him. His brain proceeded to shut down.

"Oh Ranma! Thank you! I'm so happy that you at least support me. I mean, if you thought I was doing a bad job, I don't know what I'd do. Your words mean so much to me…" Ranma's brain sputtered and tried to restart itself, but Belldandy then proceeded to rest her head on his shoulder, causing it to die again. 

Belldandy smiled to herself as she rested on Ranma's shoulder. It felt nice, to just relax and not worry about everything. She was so happy that he didn't seem to hate her or anything. She valued his opinion so much… Then she realized what she was doing.

"Oh my!" She mentally screamed as she shot up and released Ranma.

"I'm so sorry Ranma!" Ranma nodded weakly, but inwardly he was a little disappointed.

"Why?" He wondered. He then turned to Belldandy.

"Well, now that I know what um, you are, I guess you probably want to keep all this a secret huh?" She nodded frantically.

"Oh yes please! It would be for the best." He smiled slightly.

"Well you're secret is safe with me, "Kasumi" and I can assure you that I won't tell a soul…" She grinned back at him.

"That's good to hear Ranma. Shall we go back now? I'm sure the others are worried about us." He nodded and she leapt off the roof, causing him to gasp in fear, before she simply levitated down to the ground. He blinked.

"I guess this will take some getting used to…" He muttered as he leapt off himself and slowed his descent with a mid-air flip, landing lightly on his feet. Belldandy had already reverted to her Kasumi form, and with that, the two headed back to the Tendo Dojo. 

"There's a lot more I'll have to tell you Ranma, but for now, this is enough…" Belldandy thought to herself as they headed home. Meanwhile, back on the roof, a small figure slipped away to report back to his master.

"WHAT! The foul sorcerer Ranma Saotome, now has a Goddess under his dark power?" Kuno yelled as his loyal ninja Sasuke reported what he had seen on the roof of the Furinkan High. "Yes master, and what's more, she is disguised as the one known as Kasumi Tendo!" Kuno growled low in his throat.

"The knave! He has gone too far this time! To hold a deity in his thrall, I shall not stand for it! But wait Sasuke, you say that this Goddess is actually Kasumi Tendo?" Sasuke nodded, knowing his master was about to come to some ridiculous conclusion again.

"Aha!I knew it! If the fair Akane Tendo's sister is a Goddess, then that must mean, that Akane Tendo herself is of divine origins! Just as I always thought! Oh my warrior Goddess! My Valkyrie!" He then assumed a noble pose that looked rather ridiculous.

"I must double my efforts to free her now! She and the fair Kasumi Tendo that Ranma Saotome enslaves must be rescued! I shall save them! For I am Tatewaki Kuno! The great Blue Thunder whom the Gods themselves have gifted with the task of freeing Goddesses, so that they may shower me with their love and affection!" A figure observed all this in secret. 

"Hmm, this delusional fool could prove useful after Krin gets his turn…" The figure chuckled.

"If the gods had chosen someone like that idiot to fight for them, "we" would have won a long time ago…" With that thought, the figure disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Belldandy smiled to herself as she put the finishing touches on her dinner. She just knew that everyone, especially Ranma, would love it. Finally it was done. Unajyu, and Miso soup, with some fukojin pickles as a side dish. With that done, she prepared to bring it into the dining room. Unfortunately, even a Goddess can slip, and she did, causing her, and the tray of food, to go tumbling to the floor. She quickly prepared to stop time before it was too late, but a strong arm caught her, and another one caught the tray of food before she had the chance.

"You alright Kasumi?" Ranma asked in concern. She looked up at him in gratitude and nodded.

"Ye-yes, thank you Ranma…" He set her down gently and calmly took the tray of food and set it on the table. He spoke again with his back turned.

"You should be more careful, Kasumi…" She nodded before realizing that he couldn't see her and answered him vocally.

"Yes, I will do that Ranma…" Inwardly she was quite puzzled by his odd behavior. He was treating her very differently, almost coldly. This thought made her sad, and she struggled to try and not think about it right now. Ranma sighed and sat down, awaiting the other members of the household. Slowly they all trickled down to the table and everyone began to eat. The meal, although delicious, was strangely subdued. There was something in the air. Something that made everyone, even Genma, serious and alert. Ranma's eyes suddenly darted to the side, and he tensed, making everyone take notice of him. 

"Look out!" He yelled as he leapt and stood in front of "Kasumi" just in time to catch a throwing knife. His eyes narrowed and he scanned the darkness of the night in search of her mysterious assailant. His eyes then widened and he scooped her up in his arms jumped to the side. Several more knives embedded themselves where they were standing moments ago. With Belldandy held protectively in his arms, Ranma felt his anger grow.

"Show yourself!" He yelled. A sadistic giggling was heard, and all eyes turned to a short figure standing on top of the Tendo wall. He had wild blonde hair, and manic eyes, and he was dressed in black leather from head to toe.

"Well well, Ranma Saotome. You're as skilled as he told me. But I do so love a challenge!" He held up a fist, which clutched several knives in it where before it had been empty.

"I am Krin, Demon Third Class, Second Category Limited, and I am here to kill you Saotome!"

"A lesser demon?" Belldandy thought to herself. Krin tossed the knives at Ranma with deadly accuracy, and he was forced to leap and twist in mid-air to dodge them all, Belldandy still held in his arms. He landed on the ground and set her down quickly. He then charged a ki-blast in his hand.

"I don't give a rat's ass what category you are! You picked the wrong guy to mess with freak!" He brought his hand up and shot an open-palmed blast of his own essence at the crazy demon. Krin smirked and dodged the bolt, and while in mid-air, he spun and threw out over five knives. All of which Ranma caught. Krin looked shocked for a moment before smirking again.

"Ha ha! A neat trick mortal! Very well, let's see if you can handle this!" Krin leapt up into the air and seemed to hang there for a moment, before spinning in a ball so fast he became a blur. He hung in the air like that, and all of a sudden, tons of knives flew out of his blurred form towards the pig-tailed one. Ranma's eyes widened, and he frantically started dodging them all. But they just kept coming. Several almost skewering him, and several hitting the house, and coming close to hitting the others. Ranma grimaced and knew he had to end this fast. Concentrating, Ranma threw another ki-blast, which knocked all the knives away for a moment. Running forward, Ranma leapt up and brought his hands up over his head. 

"Eat this!" He yelled as he slammed his two hands onto the demon in a vicious hammer blow that sent Krin hurtling towards the ground. He hit the ground hard, and lay unmoving for a moment, before springing to his feet.

"Mortal! I'll kill…" He didn't get to finish his threat as Ranma was already there and executing his next move.

"Kachu-Tenshin Amaguriken!" Hundreds of blows struck the lower demon in seconds. What was left was a bloody, bleeding form that could barely stand. Ranma was about to finish him when he abrubtly disappeared with a puff of smoke to mark his passage.

"Tch, coward…" Ranma muttered, before groaning in pain and falling to the ground from the dagger stuck in his arm. As unconsciousness claimed him, he heard a voice yell his name.

"Ranma!"

Krin reappeared in an abandoned alleyway halfway across Tokyo and frantically looked around in puzzlement for who had brought him there. A voice spoke from the blackness of the alley.

"I'm very disappointed Krin, you were supposed to take care of the mortal…" Krin gulped and shook slightly in fear. Brahm appeared from the shadows, a calm unreadable expression on his face. 

"No wonder you're a lesser Demon Krin, you can't even kill a stupid pathetic mortal… You're nothing but garbage…" Krin knew he was as good as dead, and he prayed that it would be relatively painless. Brahm was after all one of the most powerful Demons around. Brahm smirked at the fear Krin was showing.

"Bah, get out of my sight…" He muttered as he waved his hand and sent Krin back to Hell to be properly punished for a few millennia. Brahm then leaned against a nearby wall, deep in thought.

"Hmmm, Krin was useful for testing out some of the mortal's capabilities. Ranma Saotome is indeed strong, and I can't fight him and the Goddess at the same time… But the Goddess can't harm mortals… Not unless they attack her first, so if I were to use a mortal or two…" A shout rang through the night air.

"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT RANMA!" Brahm grinned evilly as a plan began to form. One that would remove the mortal from the picture and leave the Goddess open to attack. His laughter echoed through the night, and caused many to involuntarily shudder. 

He was falling, endlessly falling. He glanced to the sides of the infinite blackness, and saw faces. The faces of ones he knew. A boy with a bandanna, another with a bokken, yet another with glasses. Then there were girls, one with a ribbon, one with a spatula, one with bells, and one with a mallet. He looked to another side, or at least what he perceived to be a side, and saw a panda, and a woman with a katana. He grimaced and closed his eyes, or at least what he perceived to be his eyes, willing the images to go away, but they remained. Taunting him in a way. 

_"You will never have a normal life…" _They whispered._ _

_"You're life is one of chaos, defined by the fight…This will never change…" _They seemed to grow louder and he continued to fall. He clenched his eyes shut and covered his ears.

"Stop it!" He yelled, but it did no good.

_"It is your fate to walk this path alone… None shall aid you…The one whom you thought would bring you peace and love is nothing more than a fabrication… She does not exist and she never did…" _He shut his eyes tighter.

"Stop it! Stop it!" He screamed. 

"She can't be gone! She just can't!" He cried. The voices now grew fainter.

_"Fool, you are deluding yourself, as always…" _Then he heard her voice, and his eyes snapped open.

"Ranma… Ranma can you hear me!" He gasped and took in the scene. He was in his room, and to his side, a very concerned looking Kasumi sat. His heart leapt for joy before he remembered what he now knew.

"Uh… Damn it, what happened to me…" He muttered as he felt a bit dizzy.

"Well, after you defeated that lower demon, you collapsed, apparently one of his knives had hit you in the arm right before he got away…" She explained. She then looked around for a moment before speaking in a lower voice.

"It was mystical in nature and poisoned your spirit, so I had to use some pretty powerful healing spells to flush the dark energy out of your system. I'm afraid you'll feel a little disoriented for a while though…" Ranma nodded his thanks.

"Thank you, Belldandy." He said simply. She smiled at him, making him blush a bit. 

"You're quite welcome Ranma. I'm glad I could help." She looked away for a moment and spoke in a quiet voice.

"I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you…" She trailed off and the two sat in uncomfortable silence. Belldandy then stood up.

"Well, I'll let you rest now Ranma. If you need anything, just call me…" He nodded and she walked out of the room, shutting the door on her way out. He sighed sadly and stared up at the ceiling.

"She's really gone…" He whispered. Unnoticed, a small tear slid down his cheek.

**Author's notes:** I hope this chapter helped explain things a bit, but of course some things will be revealed in later ones. You're probably wondering why I keep making up demons huh? Well, let's face it, AMG is a great series, but it isn't really an action anime. Hence the fairly non-violent atmosphere to it. The fact that the main character is a wimp of almost Tenchi proportions is a probable cause of this. The demons in AMG are mean and nasty, but in a non-violent way. They screw up people's lives by other means. Thus I had to invent some truly evil bad guys for our boy Ran man to fight, as Ranma ½ is by contrast a pretty action oriented anime. So I made up a couple of Demons with some pretty tough combat skills. Brahm is a very strong demon who draws his power primarily from fire. Krin is a crazed lesser Demon who does tasks for higher demons, like Brahm, in hopes of getting promotions. I know I'm taking a bit of a liberty here, but well, all I can say is sorry if you don't like it. Anyway, I admit Ranma is a bit different now, but as I said before, he's changed a bit after an experience like the one in China, and is going through a hard time now. Now on to other things…Okay, I admit that in the first chapter Rumiko's reasoning for making her wish seems odd to a certain people, especially one who wrote a lengthy review about a line or two from that chapter. To this person I apologize. I did not mean to offend this individual, and as for my explanation as to why Mrs. Tendo did it, well, I'm not saying that she did it just because of her religion, or that the Catholic religion believes in accepting fate like that, but I wrote it as I saw fit, and if you don't like it, well sorry. Rumiko made that decision based on what she felt was right, with some influence from her personal beliefs, both religious, and otherwise. I am sorry if I did not explain that very well. Mrs. Tendo's character was never really shown in the Ranma series, only appearing once or twice in memories, so every author, including myself, has a slightly different version of what she's like. (And am I the only one who doesn't name her Kimiko?) You are taking a piece of fiction a bit too far I think, but thank you for the review regardless. I am sorry that that one part ruined the whole rest of the story for you. In response to another comment I received. The reasons why Nabiki and Akane are not "toned down" from canon, is because I am basically saying that this is canon. That the Kasumi we see in the regular Ranma storyline is actually Belldandy. Kasumi acts exactly the same as she does in canon. Thus Nabiki is the same, and Akane is the same. Bell tries to take care of them and help them with their problems, but not even a Goddess can repair the damage of Mother passing on, nor can she fix personal faults, as they are what make us human. And no Akane is not "normal" compared to the rest of the Tendos. She is just as nuts as the rest of them, but I like her anyway.

Whew! All right, enough of that. Next chapter should be out soon, but I am first going to try and do some more with "Heirloom." Anyway, please review! Thank you!

_ _


	3. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 3

Disclaimer:……………………………enough said

Disclaimer:……………………………enough said.

**Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!**

The Truth About Kasumi By Gray 

_ _

It was a few days after the Tendo home had been attacked by the demon known as Krin. Most people would be in hysterics and scared for their lives after something like that, but for the Tendo's, it was just business as usual. The fact that Ranma had treated the fight a lot more seriously than normal was pretty much ignored by all. After all, Ranma may have usually fought with a carefree abandon, but even he could be serious or angry once in a while. The only one who even seemed to worry about him was Kasumi, or rather Belldandy. She was the only one who noticed the changes in Ranma. She knew he was a teenager and they went through emotional conflicts all the time, but to her at least, this seemed different somehow. Ranma was a lot colder now, and while he sometimes put on a cheerful front, she knew it was just an act. Then there was the fighting between Ranma and Akane. He seemed to do it so half-heartedly now, and where as he used to honestly be hurt by her insults, now he just seemed tired of it all. His recovery from his wound had, as always, been remarkably fast, even with her magic helping, and he was now back on his feet. Belldandy sighed as she made her way around the kitchen, putting the last few touches on breakfast. Ranma would be awake soon, and the others would follow shortly. That was another thing she had noticed. He was now getting up earlier, and training harder. It was odd. She filled bowls with Miso soup mechanically as she thought about the brash young man with a pigtail. Then her thoughts turned to Brahm. He worried her. He was different from other Demons she had met. He just didn't care. Many Demons at least had some qualms, but Brahm only cared about getting the job done, by any means necessary. And right now that job was getting rid of her. She shuddered slightly as she realized how defenseless she and her "family" really was. Brahm was on a higher level than she was, and he was sadistically crafty. The only thing standing between the Demon herself, and the others was…

"Ranma…" She whispered out loud. 

"Yes Belldandy…" She flinched slightly as she turned around and sure enough saw icy eyes regarding her. She didn't just flinch from the fact that he had heard her, but by the cold way he said her name. It bothered her for some reason.

"Um, nothing…" She muttered. He nodded and turned to head for the dojo. He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen however.

"I'm going to be skipping breakfast today Belldandy, so give my portion to Pop or something…" She was a little disturbed by this, Ranma never gave up food, but replied that she would do as he asked. He thanked her and left. After she was sure he was gone, she closed her eyes and bowed her head sadly.

"Ranma…" 

"Punch, block, punch, kick, knife hand, reverse block, palm, spin, dodge, jump, kick, kick, kick, crescent, sweep…" Ranma thought to himself as he went through a myriad of moves that would awe most if they were to see, but to him it was barely an average workout. He stopped and let out a slow breath, before holding out a hand, palm facing up, and clenched his eyes shut in concentration. A ball of ki formed in his hand, and grew in size until it resembled a basketball. Then it started to shrink slowly into a baseball shape, before growing longer slightly and forming a rod-like structure. Sweat started to collect on Ranma's brow as he slowly formed the ki into different shapes with a slow steady speed almost like one would use if weight-lifting to get the maximum amount of exercise for the muscles. 

"Focus damn it! Focus!" He screamed to himself as he started adjusting the temperature of the ki, making it hot, then cold and frigid. The cold part was easier, simply because of the "soul of ice". Ranma may have been hotheaded, but the way he now fought was cool and calculating, much like a cat, his hated enemy. Finally releasing the ki and letting it dissipate into the air, Ranma blew out a breath and sat down to think a moment. His ki-manipulation was improving everyday, and soon he knew he would be able to do things that would make Herb envious. Even now, he was discovering things that he never knew could be done. He was training hard, and it was tough, but he had to, because… 

"Damn, I don't want to think about her…" But he couldn't help it. Belldandy, the Goddess who had been posing as Kasumi Tendo all this time. He still couldn't get over it. It was just so weird. He wondered how the Tendos would take it. 

"Scary…" He thought to himself as he imagined their reactions. He shook his head at that. The Tendos sure were weird. Then he laughed. He was calling other people weird.

"Least they don't change sex with water…" He thought morosely. Then he thought about something. What if Belldandy could cure his curse? She was a Goddess after all! This thought perked him up considerably. But then he thought about the past few days and groaned. 

"With the way I've been treating her lately? I'd be lucky if she didn't want to give me another curse." He got to his feet and steeled himself.

"Well, it's worth a shot! And I guess I should treat her nicer, but I… I can't help but feel…" He shook his head and promised that he would talk to her soon… He owed her that much.

Brahm smirked as he watched his two new weapons train. One of the two young men was using a sword Brahm had retrieved for him. It was a deadly blade with Demonic power coursing through it. The other was simply using his fists and feet, but was obviously the more powerful of the two. Brahm had used a combination of magic and simple conniving to get the two to help him. The two were fairly weak in the mental department, especially the sword-user, so it was fairly easy to use a bit of his power to make them help him. They had especially been ready to help since it meant that they could finally kill their nemesis, who just happened to be his enemy as well.

"How convenient." Brahm thought with a chuckle. He had told the kendoist that he would help him free a Goddess, and that was all it took, the bandanna-clad boy required a little more persuading, but he soon caved in as well. He had then used some spells to increase their natural strengths. The sword-user had been given the sword, and enhanced speed. He could now shred steel with only the air-pressure of his attacks. As for his special multiple strike technique, well, now he could cut through almost anything with it, and if he wanted, he could create miniature vacuum blades that would shred his target. As for the fanged one, well, he had gotten his already impressive stamina and durability up to insane levels, and was capable of bench-pressing tanks, plus his ki levels had been increased to very high levels as well, of course, since the boy already used a very unstable, but easier to use, form of ki, his new store-house of ki could prove dangerous to himself, but what did Brahm care? 

"These two fools are perfect…" Brahm thought as he watched the two stop their practice and stand before him. He nodded at them and smiled a very evil grin.

"Time for you to die mortal…and best of all, the Goddess can't interfere at all…" 

Ranma cursed his luck as he morosely stared at the test in front of him. Why oh why had he forgotten to study for the English test! Now Ms. Hinako was going to kill him if he didn't at least pass the damn thing.

"Not that I would have studied anyway…" He thought with a slight smirk directed in his teacher's direction. Hinako saw this and frowned at him, causing him to rub the back of his head in embarrassment and hastily return his gaze to his paper.

"Oh man… well, at least Kuno is absent today…"

Belldandy blinked as she saw the bento box sitting on the counter.

"Oh my! Ranma forgot his lunch!" She bit her lip and glanced around.

"Well, I guess I could go bring it to him, it wouldn't hurt…" She nodded at this decision and undid her apron as she scooped up the box and went to get her shoes.

"It's a nice day anyway…" She thought with a smile on her face.

Ranma groaned in surrender as he stared into his pack where he normally placed his bento box.

"Why me? Man what a bad day!" He muttered as he trudged out of the classroom anyway and went to sit by himself. He noticed Akane looking at him worriedly, and smiled at her slightly, causing her to look away in embarrassment. He sighed and plunked down in front of a tree.

"This sucks…" He glanced around and noticed how content the other students seemed. It must be nice, he thought, to have such peaceful lives.   
"Unlike mine… one of chaos…" He saw two students snuggling and kissing, and felt a sadness tug at his heart.

"Why'd she have to be fake? Now she's gone, and I'm alone again…" He stared into space, lost in his memories of times past, when he thought he had someone on his side for once… Someone to share some of his burdens. He remembered after the "wedding" how he used to talk to her when no one else was around. Late at night, or early in the morning.

"I haven't done that in a long time, but then, she isn't here anymore, at least not really…" His head snapped up as he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Ranma! I've brought you your lunch."

He smiled slightly as he saw Belldandy walk up to him. She handed him his forgotten bento and thanked her. He noticed Akane looking at them curiously, and Ukyou as well, but paid it no heed. 

"You didn't have to bring it all this way." He said a little embarrassed that she had gone through the trouble for him. She smiled at him.

"Oh, it's alright, I wanted to do it." They stood in silence for a few seconds, before Ranma spoke again.

"So uh, you wanna sit down?" He mentally hit himself. Gee that was smooth! But she continued smiling and took a seat by the tree, causing him to follow suit.

"Yes, thank you." He offered her some of his lunch, but she declined. So he was left to munch in silence while she sat serenely. He always used to wonder how Kasumi, or rather Belldandy, could be so content all the time.

"Must be a Goddess thing…" He thought taking another glance at her. 

"Man, she sure is pretty…" He thought as he saw her lift her head slightly and sigh contentedly. 

"Okay, maybe that's an understatement…" She turned to him suddenly, causing him some embarrassment.

"Is something wrong Ranma?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"N-no! N-nothing's wrong at all!" He stuttered out unconvincingly, but she seemed to believe him and nodded her head.

"Oh, alright then." Finally he decided that he could not beat around the bush any longer.

"Um, Belldandy…" He said in a low voice while looking around warily. She did the same before replying.

"Yes Ranma?" She wondered what he was going to say. The possibilities made her nervous with both excitement, and fear. 

"Well, I, I think…" He didn't get to finish as a loud, and familiar voice, called out.

"Where are you Ranma! Your death is assured this day!" Ranma grimaced.

"Ryouga…" He muttered.

"Saotome! Your time has come sorcerer!" Ranma's grimace became a frown.

"Kuno…" He groaned in annoyance and got to his feet, with Belldandy following. He made his way over to the front of the school, and sure enough, found his two enemies glaring at him. 

"Okay, what is it this time guys? Is this just your normal "Ranma die" routine, or is it something new this time?" The two merely continued to glare, and both assumed combat stances. Ranma noticed that Kuno had a real sword this time, but paid it no real heed except for the fact that it would make disarming him a bit harder. He assumed his usual loose stance, and his eyes narrowed.

"Your move…" He said calmly. Ryouga and Kuno tensed, and then the battle was joined.

Belldandy watched the three worriedly, along with the rest of the school, who as always were spectators, with Nabiki quickly starting to take bets. Belldandy could sense the sheer evil wafting off of the two young men who had just challenged Ranma. She had always felt a measure of darkness from Ryouga, probably from his intense depression, but never to this extreme. Even now she could see the faint fringe of black in his normally sickly green aura. Kuno's aura had a similar effect to it. She had heard of this sort of thing. It meant that these two had been "enhanced" by a demon, and she was pretty sure she knew which one had done it too. She took a look at the sword Kuno held and gasped. The sword seemed to be enchanted with darkness, and was obviously made in Hell. The sword would not only boost Kuno's attacks and reflexes, but it would also cause whoever got cut by it to be drained of some of their aura. Even a little nick from the sword would cause some aura to be lost. It was evident that Ranma was in big trouble, and the worst part was, she could do nothing unless one of them attacked her personally.

Ranma smirked a bit as the two idiots charged him.

"Too easy…" He thought to himself as he ducked Kuno's swing, and swept his legs out from under him. Only to find that Kuno had leapt over his sweep, and was about to slice him. Ranma barely leaned his head back in time to avoid the cut, and was forced to roll backwards to dodge another strike. He then did a handspring just in time to miss getting crushed by Ryouga's downward punch. Flipping in the air and landing lightly on his feet, Ranma quickly assessed the situation.

"Okay… Kuno's faster than normal, and Ryouga too, plus they look stronger… And I really don't like the look of that sword. Something about it…" Ranma grimaced as he sensed the auras of his two opponents.

"God! What the hell happened to them! It's like they were given ki steroids or something." Further contemplation of the issue was cut off as the two had attacked again. Ranma weaved through their various attacks, forced to up his speed considerably to avoid getting skewered or crushed. He grit his teeth as he took a punch from Ryouga and went flying into a wall. Pulling himself out of the new hole, Ranma growled.

"Alright I've had it! Enough fooling around!" Ryouga smirked.

"Whatsa matter Ranma? Not so tough anymore? Aw, too bad! Looks like I'm the strongest now!" Kuno just laughed at him. 

"Indeed! I have at last proven my superiority over the wretched sorcerer, and will free my Goddess soon!" This was fine to Ranma, because when everyone blinked, he was no longer by the wall, but instead in Kuno's face. He pulled his fist back.

"Eat it!" Ranma yelled as his hand slammed into Kuno's nose at lightning speeds and floored the arrogant kendoist. He then spun, blocked a hit from Ryouga, and retaliated with an elbow to the stomach, then when Ryouga bowed his head slightly in pain, Ranma brought his knee up into his face, lifting Ryouga slightly off the ground. He finished with a powerful hammer blow to the top of his head, causing the lost boy to eat dirt. Ranma then stood back a bit.

"I guess now that you guys are so strong, I don't have to pull my punches…" As the two got to their feet and glared at him, Ranma went into a loose stance with his legs apart and fists held in front of him.

"So bring it on!"

**Author's Notes: **Sorry this one is a little shorter. Anyway, any comments would be appreciated so please review! Thank you!


	4. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda…You know the drill

Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda…You know the drill.

Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama The Truth About Kasumi By Gray 

"So bring it on!" Ranma yelled at the two opponents he faced for what seemed like the thousandth time. Kuno and Ryouga both smirked and with a cry from each they charged the pig-tailed one. Ranma rushed forward, meeting them halfway and kicked Kuno away for a moment to concentrate on Ryouga. He knew just the thing too.

"Kachu-Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ryouga had time to curse the hated attack before 300 punches impacted his stomach in the span of a single second. After about five more seconds of the same, Ryouga finally managed to swat Ranma aside and groaned a bit in pain. Ranma had hit his stomach with over a thousand full-strength blows, and even with the enhancements Brahm gave him, he still felt like his stomach was on fire. Ranma was dodging some strikes from Kuno and Ryouga recovered and rushed over to help the insane kendoist. Ranma was managing to dodge Kuno's hits although he noted that they came faster than normal, when he saw the arrogant upper-classman smirk again.

"Dodge this Saotome!" He cried as he executed his nigh-invincible technique.  
"Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!" He repeated the mantra as his blade became a blur of jabs capable of pulverizing steel. Ranma weaved through the attacks, and Kuno upped the ante. His sword moved even faster and he executed the advanced form of the technique. 

"Ha! Die foul one!" Miniature vacuum blades erupted forth and sought his hated enemy's flesh. Ranma's eyes widened and he barely had time to register Belldandy's voice screaming for him to watch out before the ki-blades were upon him. Some of the blades struck the ground, causing dust to rise around Ranma, and everyone watching, especially the Tendo sisters and a certain okonomiyaki chef, held their breath as the dust started to clear. Kuno smirked, knowing that no one, not even Ranma could have survived such an attack. Which is why his jaw hit the floor when the dust finally cleared and Ranma stood with both arms crossed in front of his face, a faint shimmer in front of him. He uncrossed his arms and breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told he was unsure if that technique would work, as it basically involved the user to focus all of his aura into a spot in front of them to form a sort of barrier. He had been working on it for a while now after seeing Belldandy's shield spell, and he was glad it worked, although he had done it mostly on reflex that time. Kuno gripped the handle of his sword until his knuckles turned white and he raised it above his head.

"Foul sorcerer! You shall pay!" He cried. Ranma was about to dodge, when something in his mind clicked.

"Their auras, they remind me of… of Brahm!" He then realized why they seemed so much stronger.

"Of course! The sword! Their weird auras! Brahm musta done something to them!" He noticed that Belldandy was watching fearfully and realized that she couldn't help him.

"That's right. She told me she can't use her magic on mortals unless they attack her first…" Ranma got an idea, although it would be tricky.

"It should work, although it might put her in danger…" Finally he decided it would be best to go with it. Kuno was too dangerous with that sword and he was betting a Goddess could probably undo something a Demon did.

"Here goes nothing…" He muttered as Kuno was almost on top of him.

"Your time has come Saotome! I shall free my Goddesses!" Kuno roared as he swung the blade downward. Ranma slid underneath the stroke and fell back onto his hands, pressing his feet against Kuno's stomach.

"Have a nice trip Sempai…" Ranma said coldly as he simultaneously rolled backwards and pushed his legs outward, catapulting Kuno towards Belldandy. She seemed to understand and as Kuno went flying towards her, she felt the restriction on her powers lift momentarily. Closing her eyes, she cast a very strong sleep spell, which put the kendoist out as he skidded to a stop in front of her. Belldandy quickly ran over and hastily cast a purification spell, causing the blackness in his aura to slowly recede to nothingness. The problem was that the sword would still increase his power a great deal, and needed to be dealt with. This would take longer however, and Belldandy quickly set about purifying the sword. To a casual observer, it looked like Kuno had been knocked out and she was just checking on him. Meanwhile Ranma faced his age-old rival once more.

"Ryouga…" He said simply to which the lost boy responded.

"Ranma…" The two leapt at each other without another word. Ranma knew the same trick wouldn't work twice. Ryouga, he would have to beat himself so Belldandy could hopefully get rid of the taint in his aura. 

"Ranma, you have tormented me for too long! I shall rid the world of you forever!" Ryouga yelled as he struck out with punch that could shatter concrete without effort. Ranma spun to the side and in the same motion slammed his elbow down onto Ryouga's bicep, causing his opponent to wince in pain. He then dodged a kick and retaliated with one of his own, along with a punch as interest. Ryouga seemed to shrug them off and continued his attack. Finally one of his fists struck Ranma in the face, and he went spinning in the air, before slamming into the ground. Spitting blood, Ranma flipped onto his feet and wiped some of the red liquid off of his mouth.

"Damn it! Ryouga's hits have always been strong, but I used to be able to take them without losing blood, especially after Saffron…" He then saw Ryouga's aura spring to life and begin to coalesce into his hands.

"Aw crap…" Ranma muttered as energy exploded from Ryouga's outstretched arms.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!" He cried, and Ranma could swear he heard a real lion roar. He quickly brought one arm up and supported it with his other by holding the wrist. He closed his eyes and focused his aura in front of him. The dark, sickly green ki blast impacted Ranma's shimmering blue shield and nearly broke through, before finally dissipating in the air. Ranma gasped from the strain and stood on shaky legs.

"Damn. Not only are his blasts much stronger, but he can throw them faster too. Not good…" Ryouga grinned, showing fangs, and thrust a finger into the ground.

"Let's see you block this Ranma! Bakusai Tenketsu!" The finger stabbed the ground, and caused dozens of rocks to shoot out towards Ranma. His eyes widened again and he quickly cupped his hands in front of himself.

"No time to charge this up. Mouko Takabisha!" The blue ki blast met the shards of rock and managed to disintegrate them, all except one, which whizzed by and sliced a cut into Ranma's cheek, which began to bleed a bit. Ranma's eyes narrowed and he wiped the blood off calmly. Ryouga looked slightly unsure, as he was a bit puzzled with Ranma's odd behavior. Normally his enemy would be throwing insults as much as he threw punches, but so far he hadn't said one, and had been uncharacteristically calm and unemotional. Ryouga shook this off however and held his hands to his side.

"Prepare to die Ranma! This time I will kill you!" He charged his depression ki, fueled by the demonic power of Brahm, into his hands, and felt the fiery presence of the Demon's magic running through him. Finally he was ready. He threw his arms forward and ki seemed to explode from them like a cannon.

" Shin Shi Shi Hokodan!" He cried as the most powerful ki-blast he had ever thrown raced towards Ranma. He saw Kasumi gasp in fear and cry out.

"Ranma!" As for said martial artist, well, he was charging his own ki-attack. Beams of light shot from his cupped hands as he continued to charge up the attack. And just as Ryouga's bolt was about to hit him, his closed eyes snapped open, and he executed his own attack.

"  Ten Mouko Takabisha!" A ki blast shot forth from his palms unlike his old ones in terms of power. It shined like it really was from heaven. It would probably make Herb applaud in admiration. Ranma knew that unless he stopped Ryouga's blast, the entire school building, and most of the people around him would be vaporized. Ryouga apparently did not realize that other people could be hurt by his attacks, like always. Ranma's blast was smaller, and for a moment it looked like Ryouga's would overwhelm it as the two impacted each other, but then it burst right through, and slammed into Ryouga, who barely had time to open his mouth in shock. A deafening explosion echoed as he was hit with one of Ranma's strongest new attacks. Finally it was over. Ryouga lay in a small crater, his body still smoking and his eyes closed in unconsciousness. Ranma smirked weakly and gave the victory sign to a very concerned looking Belldandy. She, along with Akane and Ukyou rushed over to him.

"Are you okay Ranchan?" Ukyou asked curiously. Ranma nodded his head and stood to his full height. He glanced over to where Kuno lay and saw that he was unconscious and his sword was gone. He looked questioningly at Belldandy, who smiled knowingly. Shrugging, he walked over to Ryouga with the others following.

"Hey, uh, I think you'd better make sure Ryouga's okay Kasumi." She nodded, catching his meaning, and knelt beside the lost one. Placing her hand as if to check his pulse, she closed her eyes and cast a purify spell. After a moment, the darkness in his aura vanished. Smiling, she stood up.

"He'll be just fine…"

Up on the roof of Furinkan, the Demon Brahm watched angrily.

"Damn! It seems I underestimated the mortal again. His resourcefulness is truly amazing. Brahm turned, his black leather trench coat billowing behind him.

"There must be a way to defeat him without the Goddess interfering, but how? He turned back and watched as Ranma conversed with Belldandy.

"Hmm, perhaps I should call in that favor from Loki…" Nodding at this course of action, Brahm disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ranma sighed to himself as he waited for Belldandy on the roof of a building a fair distance from the Tendo Dojo. They were going to have their talk here, and he wasn't going to leave until he had gotten some things off of his chest. He didn't even turn around as he sensed her land behind him.

"It's a nice night Belldandy…" He said as he looked out at the clear evening sky, his mind not even worrying over the fact that he had been fighting for his life earlier in the day. That's what defending yourself almost every waking moment did to you he supposed. He watched as the stars twinkled at him as they always did. His friends… He turned to her at last and smiled faintly. She had come in her real form, and he still couldn't get over how breathtaking it was. Of course, she was a Goddess, so it was only fitting that she be stunningly beautiful, more so that any mortal woman. She smiled at him in her usual understanding way that she did as Kasumi. It was funny how even though she now looked a lot different, subtle similarities could still be detected. There was her voice, which was identical in either form, and her facial expressions. The way she smiled with one side of her mouth slightly more upturned than the other, or the way her eyes sparkled when she was concerned or worried about something. He realized now that even though he now knew her to be Belldandy, she was still Kasumi, still the woman he… He shook his head as she started to speak.

"Ranma, is there something you want to tell me?" He nodded and looked down.

"I, I realize that I have been treating you badly ever since I found out about your uh, secret, and I just… wanted to apologize for that…" She nodded, a curious expression on her face. He took a deep breath and continued.

"All my life, I've been forced to go it alone, to fight my own battles. My whole life has been one chaotic mess thrown in a blender and put on puree. Then I came to the Tendo Dojo, and I met a girl named Kasumi, and I finally found someone who could bring some semblance of order, of peace to my life. And while my life was still insane, even more so than before, It didn't matter quite as much, because I knew I could always go to Kasumi and she would kindly offer me advice or tell me when I was honestly wrong, or if nothing else just make me feel better. Without her, I would have gone nuts a long time ago…" He trailed off for a moment and checked her reaction. She was still curiously listening to him, and giving him her undivided attention, causing him a bit of embarrassment, but he controlled himself and continued.

"I tried to make myself love Akane, but I just couldn't, because I loved someone else, and after the failed wedding things got worse and I finally just gave the engagement up as a lost cause. But Kasumi was always there to help me, and this time was no different. Then, then I found out that the woman I had known and loved all this time was in fact another person, a Goddess. And I felt a part of me die. I, I panicked for lack of a better word, and lashed out at the one I perceived took the woman I loved away from me…" She was wide-eyed and had a hand up to her mouth in shock. He bowed his head sadly.

"I cannot hope for your forgiveness, but I ask it anyway. Please forgive me Belldandy-san for my misguided poor conduct towards you…" He kept his head bowed until he felt her lift it back up. She smiled at him kindly, so much like Kasumi.

"There is nothing to forgive Ranma, your actions made me sad, but I can see why you acted the way you did, and it is quite understandable…" She saw him tremble a bit and he closed his eyes. She gasped as a tear slid past them. They snapped open and focused on her own.

"Why?" He questioned.

"Why can't you ever get mad or angry? I've treated you like dirt ever since I found out who you were and you just tell me it's alright! Do you know how guilty I feel now! You should be furious at me! Especially since I did it for such a silly reason…" She smiled again causing him to deflate slightly.

"Because I can understand how you feel, because it's not a silly reason at all, because you're the one person I can honestly say ever treated me like a real person, and not just some character in the background. When Rumiko Tendo made that wish and I became Kasumi Tendo, I basically accepted that I would probably never see my friends and family for a long time, and it was even harder because I was so young at the time. But then you came into my life and suddenly I had a friend close to my own age. I had someone who treated me like I mattered, like I actually had a brain." She bowed her head.

"I cannot thank you enough Ranma…" He blinked and sighed sadly.

"No, I should be thanking you. Like I said earlier, I would have gone nuts a long time ago without you there." He smiled brightly, causing her to do the same.

"You're always there to catch me when I fall Belldandy…" His mind flashed to the dream from before. 

"I think we catch each other…" She whispered. And they didn't say anything else, content to simply watch the twinkling stars together. Ranma didn't see the sadness in Belldandy's eyes however.

Author's Notes: Well this one was by far the most difficult to write yet. Not only did I have to do your typical big Ranma fight scene, although I'm hoping it wasn't too boring, but I also had to do a big emotional scene, which hopefully clarified some of Ranma's thoughts and feeling, and Bell's as well. I hope I succeeded at least on some small level. Anyway, please review and if possible send me some e-mail too. Until next time…


	5. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or AMG, their separate creators do

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or AMG, their separate creators do. There we have the most boring and basic disclaimer possible. But since no one reads these things, who cares?

**Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!**

The Truth About Kasumi By Gray 

_ _

Falling again, endlessly falling… Blackness surrounding him on all sides. Familiar yet ghostly images appearing on the edges of his vision. He wishes she were there to stop it, to save him from himself. But she is not, and the scary part is he isn't sure which "her" he means… Two clearer images appear before him. 

"_You must make your choice…" _They whisper to him as his gaze moves from one to the other.

"_You cannot wait forever…" Suddenly one of them shatters like glass and only the other remains._

_"You took too long like always, now the choice has been made for you…" The remaining one smiles, though it is not very comforting._

_"You never can make a decision can you Ranma? You're so selfish…always thinking of yourself and no one else… Aren't you Ranma?" _The image says in a sweet voice.He clenches his eyes shut and wills for it to all go away.

"I didn't mean too! I'm sorry! Please…I'm sorry…"

Ranma sat up with a gasp and warily glanced around his dark surroundings. Noting the familiar shapes and smells of his room, he breathes a sigh of relief. Placing a hand to his forehead, he closes his eyes, willing himself to calm down, and his heart to stop its erratic beating.

"Just another dream…" His head suddenly snaps up and he races out the window of his room, flipping onto the roof of the Tendo home, and makes his way silently towards the window of the one he seeks. Stopping above it, he swings down and catches the lip of the windowsill with his hand, and pulls himself up one-handed to a crouch on the sill. Seeing that it is unlocked, he slides it open and slips inside. He stops in front of her bed and watches her pleasant face in peaceful slumber. He has to make sure, make sure she isn't gone. He had to prove it to himself. Brushing a stray lock of hair from her face, he smiles at her slightly and just contents himself with watching her for a while. The wind begins to pick up, and he decides its time to leave. Without a sound he disappears through the open window, shutting it on his way out, leaving no evidence of his departure save the still lightly billowing drapes. And lying in her bed, Belldandy's face grows a smile.

The next morning, a soft breeze lazily swept through the open window of Ranma Saotome, lightly brushing across his face and blowing some hair into it. Though Ranma was generally a very heavy sleeper, this was enough to make him stir and crack open an eye. Wearily opening the other he groaned and turned over, before remembering something he told himself he would do the previous night. Springing out of bed, he quickly headed for the bathroom to conduct his morning activities. Clean and ready for the day, he headed for his next stop, the kitchen. Sure enough, the resident Goddess Belldandy was merrily preparing breakfast while humming to herself, although it looked a little forced, at least to his eyes. Ranma coughed to get her attention and she turned to regard him. She smiled in pleasant surprise and he hesitantly stepped towards her.

"Uh hey, you need some help there?" Belldandy nodded her head happily.

"Why yes, that would be wonderful Ranma." And so the two prepared breakfast together for the first time since Ranma found out about Kasumi's secret. And outside the stray breeze continued on its way, sweeping through the little place called Nerima.

After everyone had consumed breakfast, and Ranma had been malleted by Akane for some reason or another, no one really kept track anymore, Ranma was dragged off to school by the pigtail thanks to his aforementioned crazed fiancée. Belldandy kept her smile until he was out of sight before it slipped slowly from her face.

Brahm muttered a few choice words on his feelings of Gods in general as he waited for Loki to show up at their appointed meeting place. Bad enough the crafty God was Lord of Trickery and Deceit and at times made Demons look kind and helpful, but couldn't he at least be punctual? The blonde-haired Demon tapped his foot impatiently and crossed his arms while his face scowled. Loki's deeds in the past even made Brahm seem like Belldandy in comparison. At the thought of the sweet, kind, innocent Goddess Brahm's scowl twisted in anger. Oh how he loathed her. He had looked up her file shortly after their first encounter, and just reading about her made him retch. How anyone could believe so fully in the good of humanity was beyond him. 

"Haven't the humans shown that they are only good for causing pain and suffering upon each other and their surroundings?" A laugh echoed around him and his scowl deepened further, although he didn't move otherwise.

"Aren't you forgetting how much your kind helps them along my dear Brahm?" Brahm sneered contemptuously.

"You're one to talk Loki…" The laugh echoed again and suddenly standing behind him was the Trickster himself.

"So nice to see that you're as friendly as always Brahm…" Brahm turned at last and glared.

"Enough Deceiver! You know why I have summoned you!" Loki smirked but nodded his head.

"Yes, yes I most certainly do…" His smirk grew more pronounced.

"You need my help to deal with, oh what was it again? Ah yes! A mortal…" Loki said with as much snideness and sarcasm as he could muster. Brahm grit his teeth but reminded himself that Loki did this on purpose just to annoy him.

"More than that, I want the mortal for myself, what I want is for you to get Belldandy temporarily out of the picture so I can take care of him." Loki nodded.

"Easily done for one such as I, but tell me Brahm, why so hung up on a silly mortal?" Brahm closed his eyes and clenched a fist.

"That mortal has interfered in my affairs many times now, for that, death is the only suitable punishment…" Loki nodded again.

"Fine fine, good enough, but tell me one more thing…what is this mortal's name?" Brahm growled his hated foe's name out.

"Ranma Saotome…" Loki's eyes widened and he laughed loudly.

"Ranma Saotome!? As in cursed to become a girl Ranma Saotome? I love that guy!" Loki laughed and laughed while Brahm stood there puzzled.

"He causes more chaos and insanity than I do sometimes!" Loki wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

"Whew, that was great. I can't believe that now he's causing you trouble too. That is just too funny!" Brahm glared angrily at the God while flames erupted around him.

"I don't see what's so humorous about it!" Loki smirked and with a snap of his fingers a pail of water upended over the Demon, putting out the fire.

"Cool off!" Loki's eyes narrowed dangerously for a moment.

"Or you may end up getting burned little Demon…" Brahm was a bit puzzled by this but nodded his head, though the glare did not leave his face. Loki suddenly became all smiles again.

"Okay! I'll take care of Belldandy, the sweet thing, and let you handle Ranma!" Brahm slowly nodded his head. He knew making any sort of deal with the Trickster was dangerous, even for a Demon, but he also knew that Loki got things done, and decided like he always did, that the ends justified the means. He noticed Loki laughing again as he pulled out a camera and took a picture of the still wet Brahm.

"Even if the means leave much to be desired…"

Ranma muttered to himself as he stood outside the classroom with a bucket of water in each arm.

"Stupid tomboy…nearly pulls my hair out and we're still late…" He sighed. Actually she had made it in time. He had stopped for a moment outside the door as he felt…something. He couldn't understand what it was but he knew that something was going to happen soon, and it…unnerved him. He got the same feeling right before the Saffron incident, and Akane had nearly died then. He decided to be extra alert for now. He shifted his arms uneasily.

"Something…is going to happen soon…" He just wished he knew what.

The day passed by fairly uneventfully after that. Kuno attacked, but Ranma, as always, dealt him with swiftly, and soon school ended. Walking home with Akane, Ranma for once stayed on the ground and not on the fence, making sure that he would be able to protect Akane if anything attacked or otherwise threatened her in any way. That feeling was still going, though not as strong, and he intended to be extra wary and ready for anything, be it perverted masters, or lovesick princes, or even a jealous fiancée. He didn't notice Akane's slight smile at this or the slight reddening of her cheeks. Finally they reached the Tendo Home without incident, and Ranma blew out a relieved breath. He just hoped that it was not the calm before the storm. But then again, this was his life after all, and nothing ever went right in it.

Children happily played in the park, while in other areas, lovers embraced warmly, whispering words of tenderness in each other's ears. Belldandy smiled faintly as she watched all this. She had thought about changing to her real appearance, but decided not to. She had stepped out for a walk shortly after Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki had gone to school. She admitted that she should probably be doing the chores, but figured that she deserved at least a little time to herself once in a while. She sighed sadly as she looked up at the blue sky.

"So beautiful…" She whispered.

"Not as beautiful as you my dear…" A voice said from beside her. She started and her head whirled in the direction of the voice. Sitting on the bench beside her was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties and had dark brown hair, and deep blue eyes.

"Almost like Ranma…" She thought to herself as she stared at his eyes. She blushed a bit as he smiled at her and turned away for a moment.

"So tell me, what are you doing here all alone?" She didn't know why, but his voice, it was so…alluring. She couldn't help but answer him truthfully.

"I…I wanted to get away from…things for a while." He nodded thoughtfully and turned away as well.

"A man?" He questioned simply, to which she nodded slowly.

"Yes… H-he loves someone else…" He turned to her again.

"Perhaps a drink will take your mind off of him…my treat?" She was unsure. He seemed nice enough, but there was something about him… He reminded her of someone… She turned to him at last with an answer.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. May I ask your name?" He smiled deeply and kissed her hand, causing her some embarrassment.

"My name is…Ran…" She blinked.

"Ran? Chaos?" She wondered to herself. 

"What a coincidence! It must be Ranma who he reminds me of…" Getting up, she followed him out of the park. The sly smirk he wore as they walked went unnoticed.

Ryouga cursed to himself for what seemed like the millionth time as he found himself lost yet again. He sighed and adjusted a strap on his large pack while staring at the map he held in front of him. 

"Damn thing…" He muttered as he threw it to the ground in disgust and trudged on wearily. He glanced up at the sky and saw the clouds roll by lazily. From the general layout and various surroundings he had encountered in the forest so far he could tell he was still in Japan, and that knowledge both comforted him, and saddened him. He still couldn't believe how he had actually accepted the aid of a Demon. True it was for the cause of defeating Ranma, but that didn't make it any less dishonorable in his eyes. He could easily say that he had been tricked, but that would be taking the coward's way out. And while he was a coward when it came to certain things, like the secret of the pig, he was still fairly honorable when it came to martial arts and the warrior's code. He didn't even take advantage of Ranma when he was weak with the moxibustion, or when he had gained the power of that accursed tattoo. To put it simply, he was ashamed at how easily he had agreed to the Demon's aid. Maybe the drive to beat his rival had finally caused him to do it. After witnessing the battle between Ranma and Saffron, he had lost almost all hope of ever surpassing the pig-tailed one on his own skill. Before he had always deluded himself into thinking that he stood a chance of defeating Ranma, but the battle at Phoenix Mountain made him see just how much Ranma was holding back in all of their fights. He had been desperate afterwards, and when the Demon offered him a way to crush Ranma, he foolishly accepted it. Now he felt unworthy of even seeing the two women he loved more than anything else.

"Akane…Akari…I am going to go away for a while and clear my head, and perhaps gain a better outlook of my life…I am tired of the way things are…I may not return for a long time, but I will return someday…That I promise…" With that thought in mind, Ryouga adjusted the straps of his pack once again, and set off for places unknown.

Belldandy smiled as she continued to follow the man named Ran.

"So where exactly are we going?" Ran smiled.

"Oh, just a little place where we can talk…" He turned a corner and she quickly followed, only to find an alleyway.

"What the…" She did not finish as she sensed very strong magic being cast and felt consciousness leaving her.

"Sleep spell…" She muttered as she tried to fight it, but whoever cast it was even stronger than her, and she had been caught completely off guard. The last thing she saw was the face of Ran smirking cruelly.

"Sweet dreams little angel…" He whispered evilly.

Brahm grinned as he watched all this from the rooftops. All was going as planned. Soon, he would be free to deal with the mortal, and the Goddess would be unable to aid him at all if Loki did his part. He knew the mortal was no match for him without her help. 

"They will both suffer for causing me so much trouble…" He thought darkly.

She slowly opened her eyes and grimaced as she remembered what had happened. She noticed that she was lying on an ornate bed, and that she was surrounded by a lavish room like something out of medieval times. She knew almost instinctively where she was.

"Heaven? But how? And where?" She then realized that she was back in her true form. A voice spoke up from behind her. 

"You are in my domain my dear…" Whirling around, she came face to face with Ran once again.

"You…I don't understand…" He smirked. 

"I am surprised you haven't recognized me yet, but allow me to help you." In a flash, there was a figure dressed in fancy robes and wearing a cruel smile on his face.

"Now do you recognize me Belldandy?" She gasped.

"No…Loki…" He giggled.

"Righto! A prize for the pretty lady!" A stuffed bear appeared in her arms. She blinked before placing it beside her. Belldandy then realized that Ran had reminded her of Loki and not Ranma. Loki chuckled at her.

"What's the matter my dear? I mean no harm." Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then why kidnap me like this? Why bring me back to Heaven when I am on assignment?" Loki smirked causing her to grow angrier, even though she rarely did get mad.

"Well, you did want to talk about things did you not? And what better place than here?" She regarded him warily.

"I find it hard to believe that you would go through so much trouble just to talk to me…" He turned away from her for a moment and walked a few steps forward.

"Ah, but it is the truth…I am worried about you my dear!" He turned back to her.

"Am I correct in assuming that you love this mortal that you are living with? This Ranma Saotome…" She blushed.

"I…that is…that's none of your business!" He sighed dramatically.

"Oh! That we could all be so young and foolish!" He spoke again to her.

"You said yourself that he does not love you. So who does he love hmmm?" Belldandy looked away, her eyes tearing up slightly.

"He…he loves a woman who does not truly exist …" Loki nodded his head thoughtfully.

"I begin to understand…" He began to pace a bit.

"You're saying he is in love with your human form right? The woman he knew you as before you revealed yourself to him correct?" She nodded sorrowfully. Loki grinned and snapped his fingers.

"I've got it!" He exclaimed as if the idea had just come to him.

"What if you became this Kasumi Tendo individual permanently?" Belldandy bowed her head slightly in thought. Become Kasumi permanently? That seemed so drastic… Surely she could… She looked up at him.

"Why are you helping me?" Loki looked hurt.

"Why my dear Belldandy! I am merely looking out for a fellow deity! It is my duty to help if you are in distress. Especially since it is you Belldandy. Arguably Father's favorite child…" She looked away.

"Do you really think he loves me more than the others or you?" Loki smirked cruelly.

"Please Belldandy, don't even try…I am the God of Mischief and Chaos after all…Father would sooner send me to Hell than look at me!" She could tell there was some old pain there so decided not to continue. Loki brightened considerably after a moment.

"So what'll it be? Will you accept my offer?" She was still unsure.

"Can you really do that?" He nodded and held up a glass bottle.

"Yes, I will simply place the essence of your divinity inside this, and alter certain portions of your body structure so that you will for all intents and purposes be mortal! Although you will lose all memory of ever being a Goddess… For all intents and purposes, you as you currently exist will be gone forever…" Belldandy bit her lip. It was so tempting. Not only would the Tendos, her family, be happy, but Ranma would be too. 

"Ranma…" She thought to herself as she remembered all the fond memories she had of him, and the even fonder ones that they shared together. She found herself nodding her head at Loki.

"Very well…" He smiled.

"Excellent! Now just lay down and remain still…this won't hurt at all!" She nodded and did so. Closing her eyes as she felt her what seemed like her very soul slip away. Her last thought was of Ranma smiling, his blue eyes glittering in mirth. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Ranma…For you…" 

  
  


**_ _**


	6. 

Disclaimer: I do not own…aw forget it…

Disclaimer: I do not own…aw forget it…

Note: I refer to Ranma as a he even in girl form simply because he is still male mentally and I think he would refer to himself as male regardless of his appearance.

Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!

The Truth About Kasumi 

By Gray

Upon arriving home from school, in girl form thanks to a splashing on the way by that kooky old lady, Ranma immediately felt that something was wrong. Everything looked the same, but something tickled the edges of his acute danger sense. 

"Something isn't right…" He muttered to himself as he stepped through the gates of the outer wall with Akane following him.

"What was that Ranma?" She asked curiously. Turning around to face her, he smiled slightly for her benefit.

"Ah, nothing, it's nothing Akane…" He said as he nervously twitched a few times and sweated slightly. Blinking in confusion, the youngest Tendo shrugged and continued past him into the house.

"C'mon Ranma, let's go inside." She said from the door while removing her shoes. Nodding, he walked up to the porch. Pausing for a moment, he turned around slowly.

"Is someone there?" He thought as he saw nothing out of the ordinary. But he could've sworn… Shaking his head, he stepped into the house and set his shoes by Akane's in their usual place. Then he stopped. Blinking slowly, he realized that Belldandy's shoes were not there. Looking around quickly, they were nowhere to be found. The feeling intensified slightly. Ignoring it for the time being, he headed up the stairs to his room to put his books down, and then he decided he would get some hot water. 

"She probably just went to go get some groceries or something…" He muttered as he climbed the steps. But the feeling did not seem to share his disinterest in the matter.

Akane stepped into her room and shut the door, tossing her bookbag on the floor; she wearily sat down on her bed and rested back on her elbows, staring up at the ceiling.

"That protectiveness…was I imagining it?" She wondered as thoughts of Ranma swirled in her head.

"He actually walked on the sidewalk beside me! That never happens… Could he actually like me?" Shaking her head furiously, she laid back onto her bed and continued to stare up at the familiar ceiling of her room since birth. 

"There's just no way he could possibly…but what if?" She closed her eyes and feigned indifference.

"Well, even if he does like me, it's not like I…" But she couldn't finish the thought. Akane had noticed how close Kasumi and Ranma had gotten after the failed wedding, and was secretly quite jealous. But for the last week or so, he had treated her sister really coldly, almost rudely. It was odd that he would just reverse his manner towards her so completely and quickly. She felt a guilty thrill in her heart as she thought that maybe he had realized he loved her and had stopped being friendly to Kasumi as a result. He had certainly been a lot ruder to his other fiancées, that was for sure. He had actually told Shampoo to go away the other day. Something unheard of before.

"Yet he's treating me a lot better lately…more polite and sensitively…" Sighing slightly as her chaotic feelings for the pig-tailed boy continued to dominate her mind, Akane realized that she would not be thinking of much else for a while.

"I'm home!" The familiar voice called cheerfully. Springing up from his bedroll, Ranma dashed out the door of his room and down the stairs at a speed close to sound. Coming to an abrupt stop in front of the door, he watched as Belldandy in her Kasumi form as always, took off her shoes and smiled at him.

"Oh, hello Ranma! How are you?" Blinking a bit, Ranma replied slowly.

"Um, I'm uh, fine Kasumi…" Nodding to him, she stepped by and went into the kitchen.

"Goodness! It's so late already! I'd better get dinner started." She said, and she proceeded to do just that, leaving a bewildered Ranma standing by the door in confusion.

"What was that all about?" He wondered as the feeling intensified further.

Dinner was a particularly strange affair that night at the Tendo Dojo. Akane kept sneaking covert glances at Ranma, and Ranma kept sneaking covert glances at Kasumi, while Kasumi herself just smiled serenely. Nabiki was meanwhile just trying to figure out why Ranma and Akane were acting so odd. Mysteries pissed her off, and Nabiki Tendo didn't like being pissed off.

"Could something have happened between them?" She wondered to herself as she ate in quiet contemplation. Ranma couldn't help it. He just felt like there was something wrong with Belldandy. The way she smiled, the way she acted. It was almost exactly the same as normal, almost. There was just something about her now, he couldn't quite put his finger on it but it was there, or rather, something wasn't there. Then there was the fact that Akane kept glancing at him oddly. He decided to ignore that in favor of concentrating on what was wrong with Belldandy. He decided that he would talk to her later, when they were alone.

As the various residents of the Tendo Dojo turned in for the night, Ranma quietly sat on the roof, waiting until he was sure the little talk he had planned would not be interrupted or heard by others. Up above, the stars glistened with a soft light. He wondered if Akane was taking her pig to bed tonight. He waited for it, but the once almost maddening anger and jealousy he felt over the matter was gone, replaced with only a weary sense of tiredness, actually that was the way he felt about the whole engagement these days. He just wished that he had some control over his stupid life for once. Dismissing these morbid thoughts for another time, he continued to wait until at last he was sure that everyone save Belldandy had gone to bed. Knowing she would probably be in the kitchen finishing tidying up, he headed for there. She was just putting her apron away when he walked in. Seeing him, she smiled sweetly.

"Why Ranma, shouldn't you be in bed by now?" She asked in her usual voice. Something was definitely off here.

"Well, the truth is…I came to talk to you Belldandy…" She blinked in confusion.

"Belldandy? Who on earth is that Ranma?" She said in a genuinely puzzled tone. Ranma's mouth opened and closed several times.

"What are you talking about? That's you! You're Belldandy!" He practically yelled. The feeling was reaching a crescendo. She merely continued to look puzzled and bit her lip slightly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Ranma…It's me Kasumi, my name isn't Belldandy..." She said reassuringly, slightly frightened by how he was acting.

"Is this some kind of joke? That's it isn't it? You're joking, right Belldandy?" He asked in a desperate voice. She shook her head in the negative, worry creasing her brow.

"Ha ha! Good one! You almost had me there! Ha ha ha…ha…ha…." He trailed off and his voice cracked.

"You-you aren't joking are you?" He asked quietly. She shook her head yet again. Ranma glared at her, causing her to take a step back. A sense of panic began to take shape within him

"Who are you then? Where is Belldandy? Tell me!!!" He yelled angrily. Frightened beyond belief of the young man whom she cared for deeply and always thought wouldn't lift a finger against her, tears formed in Kasumi's eyes. Growling, Ranma advanced on her.

"That isn't going to work! Tell me where she is, NOW!" Yelping as he yelled at her with an even greater intensity, Kasumi continued to back away until she hit the wall, and slid down to the ground. Ranma stood over her with a glare. Until he was smacked upside the head by a weight. Turning his gaze to his attacker, he found Akane and the rest of the family standing by the entrance to the kitchen. Akane nearly took a step back from the sheer anger burning in his eyes, but managed to keep her composure. Slowly the anger and desperation in Ranma's eyes drained and what was left was a sort of dark despair so great that he doubted even Ryouga had experienced it before. Soun glared at him angrily.

"Ranma! What is the meaning of this?" His eyes fell on the still whimpering Kasumi, and the Tendo patriarch began to visibly steam while a growl escaped his mouth.

"You had best have a good explanation for this Ranma!" Soun couldn't understand it. The only person Ranma had ever truly shown genuine respect for, besides his own Mother, was Kasumi, and he had always gone out of his way to make her happy, yet now he found the boy yelling at her and causing her to cry. This would not be tolerated. Ranma seemed to be taking his time so Soun decided to give him some "encouragement." 

"Well? I am waiting Ranma…" He said in a threatening voice. Clenching his fists, Ranma pointed towards Kasumi who gulped slightly.

"That's not Bell…I mean, that's not Kasumi!" The Tendos and Genma all stared at Ranma like he had gone insane. Still pointing at her, Ranma groaned as he realized they all thought he was nuts, and maybe he was. Staring at the still lightly crying girl, Ranma felt a sense of shame overcome him. Whether she was Belldandy or not, he had made this girl cry, and that fact made him feel a great shame. But it was squelched by the burning desire to find out what had happened to Belldandy. Genma stepped forward slightly.

"What the hell are you talking about boy! If that isn't Kasumi then I'm not a panda!" Ranma glared at his Father. Should he reveal the secret? It might help matters. On the other hand, without actual proof, they would probably not believe him. What was he supposed to say? Well, you see guys, the person who you thought was Kasumi is in fact a Goddess and there never was an actual real Kasumi, it was the Goddess the whole time…Yeah right. It sounded ridiculous even to someone like him, who encountered the ridiculous and downright strange on a daily basis. Sighing wearily and bowing his head, Ranma spoke in a quiet tone of voice.

"Look, I can't explain it very well, but I'm telling the truth…that she…" He pointed to Kasumi, who had finally gotten up but looked at him fearfully.

"Is not Kasumi…Not the real one anyway…" After seeing their still disbelieving gazes, Ranma blew out an annoyed breath.

"Fine, ya wanna hear the whole story? You want to hear the truth about Kasumi? Well siddown, this is going to take a minute…" Nodding slightly, the various people all moved into the living room and took a seat around the table. Ranma sat down last, and rubbed his forehead for a moment, before beginning his tale.

"Lessee, it all started when I found Kasumi facing off against a Demon…" 

"And then I found out that this person here does not know who Belldandy is at all, even though that's who Kasumi really was…" He finished after explaining in great detail the events of the past few days to the assembled individuals. Nabiki was the first to speak up.

"That…is the stupidest bunch of bull I have ever heard in my life…Even from you that's dumb Ranma…." Slumping in defeat as everyone nodded their heads in agreement of Nabiki's statement, Ranma wearily bowed his head. The only one who even noticed his pain was Kasumi, who, despite her earlier fear of him, reached over and patted him reassuringly. Glancing up at her, Ranma felt the old feelings stir, but oddly enough with the knowledge that this person was not Belldandy, they just weren't as strong. 

"I'm sorry Ranma, but I'm Kasumi, I honestly don't know any Belldandy, and I think I would know if I was a Goddess or not…" Ranma sighed and nodded his head, detecting the honesty in her voice as genuine.

"I know, I'm sorry…I overreacted in the kitchen…" He said to her while she smiled in response. He then turned back to the others.

"However, I am telling the truth…I don't know what's going on here, but I do know that Belldandy is missing, and I'll give up martial arts before I give up on her…" Hearing the raw conviction in his voice, the other people seated at the table realized just how serious Ranma was about this. Standing up, he was just about to head to the roof to do some thinking on where she might have gone when he heard clapping. Whirling around, he found the cockily grinning form of Brahm standing by the Koi Pond in the backyard. 

"A most interesting story mortal…I assume this is the part where the handsome prince heads off to rescue his true love from the clutches of the big bad monster?" The Demon said in a mocking voice as everyone's attention remained on him. For some reason, Kasumi felt some natural aversion to the strangely dressed, blonde man before them. She subconsciously inched closer to Ranma. The pig-tailed boy glared hatefully at the leather clad figure smirking at him. 

"What are you doing here Brahm? And what have you done with Belldandy?" Ranma yelled as he took a step forward and held up a fist clenched tight.

"Tell me now!" He cried as Brahm grinned evilly and wagged a finger at the boy. 

"Temper temper my dear mortal… I'm getting to that part." He said as mockingly as he could. Loki was right! This evil cocky villain stuff was fun! Gritting his teeth and gnashing them together, Ranma prepared to charge the Demon, when the still smirking man held up a bottle. It was beautifully made, and glistened in the moonlight. If one looked closely enough, one could see a swirling golden mist trapped inside. Brahm lazily tossed it up in the air; only to catch it again as it fell into his hand.

"What is that?" Ranma asked warily. He didn't like the way Brahm was smiling. 

"This…is the trapped essence of a Goddess…a very foolish Goddess, for you see, she was stupid enough to fall in love with a…mortal…" Brahm spit the last word out like it was a vile curse. Ranma's eyes widened significantly as he realized just who the Goddess in question was. Then they narrowed to slits.

"You bastard…" He whispered, although everyone heard him. Brahm grinned evilly.

"I think you begin to understand boy…" He then turned to the Tendos. 

"Listen up! Contained within here is the very essence of your beloved Kasumi! Or at least what makes her complete!" They all stared at him wide-eyed.

"So Ranma was telling the truth? All that stuff about Kasumi being a Goddess in disguise?" Akane asked in awe. Brahm chuckled.

"Yes my dear, it's all true. Your dear sister never actually existed. A Goddess named Belldandy simply granted a wish to your dying Mother and in doing so, became an older sister to you and a caretaker of your home. The Ultimate Force took care of the rest, like altering your minds to make you believe you always had a sister named Kasumi…" The Tendos were truly shocked. All that time, the woman who cleaned their home, cooked their meals, and in essence was the anchor that held the Tendo Dojo in the port of sanity, was a Goddess!? It was simply unbelievable! But the proof was right there, and it was unlikely that Ranma would just happen to tell the same story as a Demon without it being true. Soun stood up.

"If what you say is true, then I demand that you unhand my daughter's soul at once!" Akane and Nabiki also stood, glaring at the Demon, and Genma took a position by his friend, also ready to fight if need be. Kasumi watched it all from her still seated position, unsure of what was going on exactly, but knowing that she lay at the center of it. Something did feel incomplete inside her actually. Ranma stood in front of them, prepared to fight to the death if it meant saving Belldandy's soul. It wouldn't be the first time he stared into the abyss after all. Brahm scowled.

"Haven't you all listened to me! Your daughter never actually existed! She' s nothing but an elaborate fabrication! It was a Goddess the whole time!" Ranma met his scowl coolly.

"We don't care…Belldandy is still a part of us…" Akane stepped forward to stand beside him.

"I love my sister! Whether she's a Goddess or not doesn't make a difference!" Nabiki also took a step forward, her usual business mask replaced with a face of anger.

"Mess with my family and I guarantee I'll make your life a living hell!" Soun and Genma also stood up to him.

"My little girls are all precious to me! Whether my eldest is not truly my own makes no difference to me! She's still a part of my family!" Soun yelled while Genma nodded in agreement, and Ranma got into a fighting stance.

"We don't care what the hell you have to say Brahm! Belldandy, Kasumi, it doesn't matter! We all love her! And I'll be damned before I let you take her from us!" He yelled, his voice carrying the raw determination he was famous for. Brahm growled at the puny insects that dared to stand before him and mock his words.

"You fools…You stupid ignorant fools!" His hands exploded in flame, and the air crackled with dark energy.

"You think you can stand up to a Demon First Class! And live!" A blast of flame shot out and set the grass on fire, causing flames to erupt everywhere, bolstering Brahm's power to new heights.

"You're all fools! And you will all die!" He pointed a hand at them and a stream of fire screamed towards them like a flame-thrower on steroids. Gasping in fear, the assembled people were frozen to the spot, except for Ranma, who quickly put up his hands and focused.

"Ha!" He yelled as a shimmering wall of his own ki appeared in front of them, shielding them from the blast. Growling in fury, Brahm launched another, and another. Ranma was visibly straining, and all could see the sweat pooling on his brow, and the gritting of his teeth. Thinking fast, Ranma ducked down and held his arms upward, causing a sort of bubble to appear around them. It was small, but he managed to fit everyone inside it. It was difficult to maintain, but it would more effectively protect them all, especially since now Brahm had set the entire house on fire and was tossing fireballs from above them by floating in mid-air. Gritting his teeth so hard he swore they'd break, Ranma forced himself to remain focused.

"Soul of Ice… Remember all the ki-shaping and manipulation training you did…" He thought to himself as the strain grew. He had been proud of himself when he had successfully duplicated Belldandy's shield spell as a ki technique, but now wished that he had practiced with it more. Brahm snarled as he threw yet another ball of flame at the impenetrable blue barrier that separated him from the mortals. He had to give the boy credit however. A mortal replicating a shield spell using only his own feeble willpower condensed into energy was rather impressive, but if Brahm knew anything about shields, it was that the best way to get rid of them was to simply keep pouring on the punishment until they were gone. He had killed a few Gods this way. The fact that Demons had died because of this mattered little to him. Grinning with satisfaction as he finally began to see the shimmering barrier begin to weaken, Brahm called forth an enormous blast of pure hellfire and aimed it at the small glowing shield. Ranma's eyes widened as he saw the blast of flame come hurtling towards them. There was no way in hell he could stop that! Clenching his eyes shut, Ranma forced every ounce of ki in his body to power the shield, praying it would be enough. In his mind's eye he saw Belldandy smiling at him softly, not in her Kasumi form, but in her true form. Realizing that everyone here was going to die unless he somehow succeeded in stopping the blast of flame, Ranma drew strength from deep within himself, and funneled it all into the shield, the tiny little shimmering dome of ki that was the only thing separating them all from the fiery hell of the outside. Everyone's eyes widened as the blast hit with a searing intensity and a large explosion that echoed loudly. The air crackled with mystic energy for a few moments before the smoke from the attack cleared. Slowly opening their eyes, the others blinked as they realized that they were in fact alive and not fried to a crisp. Ranma stood, gasping from the strain, and Brahm smirked cruelly, holding up a fist burning with power.

"It ends…" He whispered as he aimed for the pig-tailed boy. Ranma glared defiantly, knowing he could barely move now, and would soon be dead. His only regret was that he couldn't see Belldandy one last time. Just as Brahm was about to shoot, a cry rang out from the side.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!" A large blast of ki slammed into the Demon, knocking him back and halting his attack. Standing on the fence of the Tendo house, was the familiar form of Ryoga Hibiki, with his hands still smoking from the release of ki. He smirked at Ranma, showing a hint of fang.

"Geez Ranma, I wanted to get away for a while, and instead I gotta come and save your sorry hide!" The lost one said with a grin. 

"For once bacon boy, I'm glad to see your ugly face!" Ranma said, smirking in reply. For once not bothered by the pork reference, the bandanna wearing fighter prepped another ki blast in his palms, ready to be unleashed on his former benefactor, who was had just regained his wits and was glaring at the lost boy.

"This is the thanks I get for helping you before you stupid fool!" Brahm yelled angrily. Ryoga growled slightly.

"For manipulating me, and filling me with your tainted vileness, I shall destroy you Demon scum!" Ryoga cried in return as he thrust his hands forward again.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!" Another blast of condensed spirit smashed into Brahm, causing the Demon to roar in fury and charge at Ryoga. The lost boy had time to blink before an enraged Demon First Class crashed into him, and then threw him into the still burning inferno that was the Tendo backyard. Cursing to himself, Ryoga tried to get back up, but was hit in the back by a potent kick courtesy of Brahm, who laughed as he continued to kick the lost one with bone-shattering force. Brahm was about to deliver a particularly nasty blow, when he was hit from behind by fist. He turned and found Ranma glaring at him, and then felt a dozen more blows impact his stomach in a split second, before a potent crescent kick slammed into his head with deafening force. Unfortunately for the pig-tailed boy, Demons are much more resilient than they look, and Brahm casually swatted him away. Ranma skidded along the ground from the force of the blow but managed to stop himself before he was thrown into the flames. The others had moved over to the koi pond where they would hopefully be a bit safer. Ranma quickly flipped up onto his feet and faced off against Brahm once more. He noted that Ryoga was getting to his feet and was glad that he would have a bit of back up in this battle. He also noticed that the flames were getting worse, and that if something wasn't done fast, then the whole area would catch fire. A plan formulated in his mind and Ranma grinned slightly. If it worked, he would beat Brahm and put out the fire at the same time. Brahm crossed his arms impatiently.

"Are we going to finish this or not mortal?" Ranma smirked a bit wider and got into a combat stance that emphasized defense.

"Come and get me jerk!" Ranma yelled in challenge. Brahm sneered and charged him. The first blow snapped Ranma's head back. He couldn't believe the speed that the blows were coming at. Even he had trouble seeing them. The next attack he was able to dodge, but it was a trick as a knee was embedded in his gut shortly after making him collapse to his knees. Gasping for breath, Ranma cursed and tried to stand back up, only to get a snap kick in the face that caused him to hit the ground hard. Rolling away, he sprang to his feet and spun to the side just in time to dodge yet another strike from Brahm that would have probably ripped his head off had it connected. Brahm sneered again and withdrew his fist.

"I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart with my bare hands mortal!" He said with a ferocious look on his face. The malignance he radiated was enough to make even Ranma slightly afraid for his life, but the pig-tailed boy bolstered his confidence, knowing he had to be brave if his plan was to work. Now that he had the Demon off guard, he decided it was time for phase two of the plan. Suddenly surging forward, he almost laughed at Brahm's shocked face, but instead calmed himself and focused the soul of ice into his fist. Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what Ranma was about to do. Ranma smiled coldly as he completed the move.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha revised! Ice Storm!" The new revision of Ranma's most devastating attack basically entailed the user to not only use his cold aura to create the tornado, but to actually force the aura into the tornado. It required that the cold aura be stronger than the enemy's hot aura, and made it so that instead of having an equality between the two, there would be a more dominant cold aura. Similarly, if he allowed the hot aura to be stronger, then the tornado would be blisteringly hot, but now it was as frigid as Nabiki on a bad day, and was very effective against the Demon inside of it, who drew power primarily from flame.

"Arghh!" Brahm screamed as he felt the biting coldness try to tear him apart. Damn that accursed mortal! How could he possibly create something this powerful. It was ridiculous! He was just a boy! Roaring in fury, Brahm fought against the arctic chill with the raging hellfire that was his to command. For several minutes the two forces of nature did battle, and in the meantime the surrounding flames that had been greedily consuming the Tendo home were put out by the freezing winds of the tornado. Ranma calmly watched the battle between his creation and the Demon, hoping that this would end it, but somehow knowing that it might not be enough. Just as it appeared that Brahm would be swallowed up by the power of the twister, an earth-shaking roar rang out across the sky, and flames erupted from every single part of Brahm's body, as a flaming aura of fire burned around him.

"I will not be…beaten!!!" He cried as he exerted even more power. A flash of light occurred, and Brahm's sudden drastic increase in power caused the whirlwind to finally collapse and the heavy chilling winds to die down. Years later, many Nerimians would tell of the day they saw a great battle waged in the sky. It was between the forces of good and evil they would say if they had a flair for the melodramatic or simply liked to embellish things. They would not know just how right they were. 

Everyone watched as Brahm levitated to the ground, flame aura still blasting around him, and blackening the already ashen ground further. His glare was intense to say the least, and completely directed at the pig-tailed boy in front of him. Gulping slightly, Ranma tensed his muscles and called on what little strength he had left, ready for whatever the Demon would throw at him next. He was surprised when Brahm held up the bottle containing Belldandy's soul.

"I have a proposal for you mortal…" Brahm said in a surprisingly calm tone of voice, though the menace in it was still present.

"I am bringing this little thing with me back to my home…If you are brave enough, then follow me…" He said as a glowing portal opened up in the ground, swirling with dark power.

"I will leave the door open for only a few minutes after I step through…So decide quickly if you have the resolve needed, otherwise I can guarantee that you will never see your precious Belldandy again…" He then stepped into the mass and disappeared. Ranma blinked for a moment, before clenching his fists and preparing to jump. A hand stopped him.

"We're coming with you Ranma…" Akane said, and the others nodded, even Nabiki.

"You couldn't keep me away if you tried Saotome…" She said at his questioning gaze. Kasumi stepped forward.

"I think my presence might be necessary Ranma…If what is contained within that bottle is indeed my soul…" Ranma simply nodded in reply and then to her surprise, scooped her up in his arms. Blushing a bit, she hesitantly relaxed as he tensed his leg muscles slightly while holding her a bit tighter.

"Alright then, let's go!" He yelled as he leapt into the darkness with the others following, and Nabiki hesitantly stepping in.

"Belldandy…I'm coming!" He thought as the world disappeared from view.

Author's Notes: Geez, what a hard chapter to write! Hopefully the results of my labor meet with your approval. If not, well, you know where to reach me… I just hope I don't get lynched by Kasumi lovers for that one scene in the kitchen…Have mercy! I love her too! 

Okay, certain individuals have criticized this fic as not being entirely consistent with the rules of the AMG universe. Well folks, I stated very clearly in the very first chapter that I would be changing some things to not only suit the story, but to more easily mesh the two universes together. I admit I have not read a lot of the AMG manga, and therefore my knowledge of every detail of it is a bit lacking, but this is primarily a Ranma fic with AMG elements, not the other way around. As to why Belldandy had trouble fighting Brahm in chapter one when she is so powerful in the manga, well, there are several reasons. One is that this Belldandy is not as powerful as the canon one because this one has been living as a human for a long time now, and hasn't had much of a chance to be a Goddess for a while. Also, Belldandy is not typically a violent individual, so naturally she isn't too keen on fighting all out against Brahm, who has no such qualms. Plus there's the Doublet system…have I made my point yet? Besides, throughout the story you can see that Brahm is wary to take her and Ranma on together. In this story Brahm has a higher rank then Bell, and is therefore more powerful. Let me also state once again, Ranma is acting differently because he is starting to grow up a bit. After killing a god, and almost losing Akane, plus finding out that Kasumi has been a Goddess the whole time, he's going to be bit different than he was in say, the middle volumes of the manga. As for any other complaints people have, well, this is fanfiction, and fanfiction doesn't necessarily have to follow the rules. In fanfiction, a character who is normally foolish or petty for comedic reasons in the manga, can change for better or worse. That's what makes fanfiction so great. Okay, sorry to rant, just had to address questions people had. And if you have questions, or just want to say hey, please give me some feedback and if you want to flame, well, just don't sound too stupid okay? Or I will laugh at you…

I would like to thank those individuals who are kind enough to post this and other stories of mine on their sites.

Tannim at [http://tannim.anifics.com][1]

The Lost One at [http://ranmaxovers.tripod.com][2]

And Darkchun at [www.angelfire.com/anime2/KasumiandRanma][3]

Well that's it I think…Until next time.

   [1]: http://tannim.anifics.com/
   [2]: http://ranmaxovers.tripod.com/
   [3]: http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/KasumiandRanma



	7. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Don't own em, never have, never will, end of story…

Disclaimer: Don't own em, never have, never will, end of story…

Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!

The Truth About Kasumi

By Gray

Falling, always falling. It seems like all he ever did was fall ever downwards. Whether figuratively speaking or not, he was always falling. It was dark, all so dark. He was aware…of images, in his mind's eye as he fell. Images of things he had done. Oddly enough, none of them were of the positive and good things he had done. He only saw the bad things. Were there even any good things he had done? Then he saw every time he had ever hurt those he loved. This hurt the most. He willed it all to go away, to leave him alone. But it wouldn't. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he felt a solid surface under his feet. More than that, he could actually feel something. That weightless, detached state he had been in seemed to have gone, and he could finally focus his senses, his mind. He was suddenly aware of a person, clinging to his chest and looked down into the trembling face of Kasumi Tendo. The pain in her green eyes cut him to the soul. She looked so lost. He was vaguely aware of the others appearing for lack of a better word, beside him, but chose to ignore them in favor of listening to what Kasumi seemed to be mumbling.

"Not real…" She whispered.

"I don't exist…." He then noticed that the others also looked quite shaken. Taking a quick survey of his surroundings, he found that the scenery really wasn't what one would expect Hell to look like. There was no roaring flames, or pitchfork waving red things. Rather, it resembled the Antarctic. A frozen wasteland seemingly devoid of life of any kind. Yet he wasn't cold, that was the odd thing. There wasn't even any wind. The sky though, the sky was a sickening blood red color with white clouds flowing by at much faster speeds than he was used to. In the distance, he thought he could make out lights, as if belonging to a great city, and even further in the horizon was a massive monolithic structure that had a large…hole in it he supposed. That was what it looked like anyway. Shrugging, he turned to the others when he heard Akane speaking to him

"Ranma… where are we? And why…" She hugged herself as if chilly and shivered slightly.

"Why did I see those things before…?" He smiled somewhat sadly.

"You too huh?" She nodded, as did the others. He gently set down Kasumi and steadied her, as she seemed to almost collapse without the support, like a puppet with its strings cut. She leaned on him and he felt her shiver as well.

"This place, feels so wrong…" She said quietly.

"Everything, everything is wrong…" He nodded and held her by the shoulders, as he looked her in the eye.

"Listen, we're going to get out of here as soon as we find Brahm, okay?" She nodded, and he could swear he saw "her" again I those eyes, but it must have been his imagination. He released her slowly and turned to the other members of their little motley crew.

"Okay, let's get moving, I'll take point, Ryoga, you guard our backs. Pop, you and Mr. Tendo should stay close to the girls just in case… I don't know what's out there, but we'd better be careful just in case." They nodded, and surprisingly, Akane did not make any sort of comment about being a martial artist too, and not needing protection. Ranma decided that the best path to take would be to head for the lights, and so he lead them in that direction, he just hoped he would be strong enough when the time came… Shaking his head to banish these negative thoughts, he trudged through the snow, which was not even cold, and tried to ignore the crimson sky. After about 20 minutes of walking, they found themselves confronted by a group of blonde-haired individuals with menacing expressions on their faces. One of them, obviously the leader, stepped forward and snarled at Ranma, who glared back defiantly.

"What are humans doing here? And why does one of them seem so different…" He walked up to Kasumi, who was staying close to Ranma, and stared at her for a moment. Before gasping and taking a step back from her.

"You, have the taint of the Holy on you! But how! Only a Goddess could…" He didn't get much farther as Ranma had slammed a fist into the Demon's head, sending him on a one-way trip to the ground. Ranma stepped protectively in front of Kasumi.

"Go near her again and I won't be so merciful buddy…" The Demon snarled again and got to his feet. He motioned to his cohorts, and they surrounded the small group. Ranma's eyes darted back and forth, watching for any movement at all. He had his hands up and was in a defensive stance, as were the other martial artists in the group. There were five demons, but they didn't look too tough, they didn't reek of malignance like Brahm, in fact if Ranma had to hazard a guess, they were probably about as tough as that Krin guy he had fought before, maybe even weaker. But they were still dangerous, weak Demons or not, they were still Demons. 

"You'll pay for that human! I'll enjoy killing you slowly." The lead Demon growled while Ranma simply regarded him coolly.

"That is if you can beat me buddy…" The Demon almost laughed.

"Ha! Do you honestly thing you, a mere human, can defeat a Demon Third Class like me?" Ranma smirked slightly.

"Man, don't you guys ever shut up with that bull. I don't care if you're special class, tenth license, Prom King, lord of evil, valedictorian or whatever the hell else you say, I'm still gonna beat you so bad you'll be crying like a baby, blondie!" The Demon roared, and leapt towards Ranma, who smirked and met him head on. Slapping aside a clumsy attempt at a grab, Ranma smashed a fist into the Demon's gut at lightning speeds, causing the blond to gasp in both pain, and surprise at actually feeling an attack from a human. Ranma spun and delivered a powerful spinning kick, gift-wrapped, to the Demon's temple area, flooring the formerly cocky Demon. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ryoga was fighting another one, while his Father fought one, and Soun and Akane cooperated against two of them. Kasumi and Nabiki had slipped to the side and were trying to remain unnoticed. Of course, he knew they were in trouble unless he could go and help, so he decided to finish this quickly.

"Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I really have to get moving blondie, so without further ado, I'm going to end this." Ranma said as he dropped into a ready position, and charged his ki into his palms. The Demon had time to wonder what was going on before he heard a cry of"Mouko Takabisha," and felt darkness claim him. Ranma noted that the Demon was still alive, but decided he would finish him later after he had helped the others. He immediately leapt towards one of the Demons fighting Akane, who was about to lunge at her. Angling his body just right, Ranma executed a variation of the same attack he had used to defeat Pantyhose Taro the first time. He felt his foot slam into the Demon's head and went with the momentum, driving him into the ground. He wasn't getting back up anytime soon, if at all. Flipping off, Ranma landed in front of Soun, and caught a potent looking punch from his adversary.

"These guys must be pretty weak because they don't seem to know much magic…" The Demon snarled at him, and he simply grinned and slammed his knee upwards, into his stomach. He realized, absently, that other than the one he had fought first, the others lacked blonde hair, and had yellow eyes and various other features that did not resemble a human like a regular Demon did. They also seemed pretty simple-minded. It occurred to him that perhaps these were the classless Demons that Belldandy had told him about when she explained the basic Demon Hierarchy to him shortly after the fight against Krin. These ones were only really good for brute work and guard duty, she had said, not for assignments on the mortal plane. They also did not qualify for the doublet system, as they were not true Demons. It seemed plausible enough, and would explain why they were pretty easy to beat, at least for him. Kicking the hurt Demon away from him, he noted that Ryoga had finished his off with a Shi Shi Hokodan, and was running to help out his Pop, who had been on the defensive against his opponent. As the Demon got back up, Ranma rushed towards him and kicked him back to the ground just as he finished climbing to his feet with such force that he heard an audible snapping noise that signified that the thing's neck had broken. They were Demons; he didn't have to pull his punches like he did against his normal opponents. Evidently, Ryoga felt the same way, as he struck his enemy with enough force to dent the Demon's skull slightly, and then whipped off some bandannas to shred the lower Youma to bits. Satisfied that they were pretty much done, Ranma turned to confront the Third class he had fought before, only to find him gone. He felt the Demon's presence behind him, and was just about to turn and defend himself when he heard several sharp objects whizzing through the air. 

"Thuk, thuk, thuk, thuk…" He heard the sounds of sharp blades striking flesh and winced slightly as he heard the Demon scream in pain. Turning, he saw a dagger, a shuriken, and two familiar throwing cooking utensils buried deep into the Third Class's chest area. The Demon stared stupidly at his wounds for a moment, before a large green hued bonbori smashed into his skull, making a cracking noise, and putting the Demon down for the count. Smiling slightly, Ranma turned, and sure enough, standing there were Ukyo, Shampoo, Mousse, and Konatsu. He grinned at them.

"Hey, thanks for the help you guys! But how did you get here?" Ukyo smiled in return and walked up to him, slipping some extra throwing spatulas into her bandoleer.

"Well, we were all going to the Dojo, and of course met up once there, and we saw you guys jump into a big hole in the ground…" Shampoo nodded and took over.

"Is true. Airen and others go into evil portal, and Shampoo follow. Shampoo wanted to help Airen…" Ranma nodded in understanding and glanced over at Mousse and Konatsu. He didn't even have to ask why they followed. It was obvious enough.

"Ranma-san…" Konatsu nodded at him. 

"Ranma…" Mousse did the same. Ranma then smiled wider.

"Well regardless, its good to have you guys onboard, we need all the help we can get." He then stalked over to the barely living Demon Third Class and hoisted him up to face level with one hand.

"Alright blondie, spill, where's Brahm? How do I get to him?" The blond man smirked weakly.

"Hah…he'll destroy you utterly human…ha ha ha…" He laughed weakly, and coughed out blood. Ranma glared and shook him slightly.

"Where is he?" He growled as his expression turned murderous. The Demon kept smirking.

"Very well, I'll tell you…Brahm's home can be found right outside of the Demon HQ, Nifelhiem…" Ranma blinked.

"You mean those lights?" The Demon nodded and Ranma dropped him to the ground in without a word more.

"Let's get moving." The pig-tailed one muttered as he turned to leave. The others nodded and together, they trekked once more into the unknown. 

They were getting closer now, and the usual tensions had begun to rise. Ranma had been forced to break up three fights already between the fiancées and he and Mousse had almost come to blows themselves. Mousse had also mistaken Akane for Shampoo, and had tried to grab her, only to be flattened by Ryoga for daring to try and touch Akane. Even Soun and Genma had almost gotten into a fistfight over something in their past. Even he had felt the urge to strangle his Pop for something he had done a while ago. Ranma wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed the only one that was immune to it was Kasumi, who had not even batted an eyelash when Nabiki had actually started yelling at her about something in their childhood. 

"Stupid Nabiki, always starting trouble, I outta…" Growling and shaking his head furiously, Ranma willed the thoughts away and clutched his head slightly when they wouldn't cooperate. Akane was fighting with Shampoo again, and Ukyo looked ready to join in, while Mousse, Ryoga, and surprisingly Konatsu were glaring at each other angrily. Ranma cursed as the desire to join in became almost physically overpowering and clenched his fists while shutting his eyes.

"Damn it, what-what's happening to us…" Suddenly, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see the softly smiling face of Kasumi in front of him.

"Are you alright now Ranma?" She asked in her usual kind tone of voice that made could make even the end of the world sound nice. He noticed that the others had become less agitated as well, and chalked it up to Kasumi. He himself felt a lot better now. It seemed that she had some sort of calming influence on them all. He realized that perhaps the reason they had been acting that way might have been because of Hell. Perhaps it took one's usual faults: pettiness, anger, and jealousy, and amplified them. That would explain why they wanted to practically kill each other over things that had happened a long time ago, or were insignificant. Nodding at Kasumi, he tried to smile for her benefit, though it was slightly strained.

"Yeah, I'm okay now, thanks Kasumi." She nodded and he turned to the others, and explained his theory to them.

"That would explain why we were all being so petty, or at least more so than usual anyway…" Ryoga said as he listened to Ranma's words. Nabiki smirked slightly.

"Heh, Ranma came up with something intelligent and logical, no wonder this place has so much snow." Ranma glared slightly at her.

"Ha ha, funny Nabiki, you're a riot as always…" He muttered as she just smirked more prominently. Ranma ignored her and heard Genma speak.

"In any case, we should probably keep moving, the sooner we get out of here, the better…" He glanced around uneasily while saying this. Ranma sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right Pop, let's get going you guys." He said as he addressed the others, who nodded at him in agreement. He noted that the lights were closer now, and that he could definitely make out some sort of city. It was all black, and had jutting spires and structures that resembled spikes. As they marched onwards, he noticed that as it became more visible, it became more horrifying. Large, imposing gargoyles lined the walls, and he noticed that the screaming faces of people had been carved into the walls. It was disturbing to say the least. They finally reached the outside, and Ranma saw a large black structure sitting on the outside of Nifelhiem. It resembled the other building, but it's structure looked like frozen flames. It was shaped like fire, and had horrifying shapes of burning people sticking out of its walls, expressions of pure, eternal pain etched onto their stone faces. Ranma noted that Kasumi was clinging lightly to him fear, and that the other girls were too busy being horrified to get jealous. Pushing down the twinge of fear he felt, Ranma walked up to the massive double doors in front, and was startled to find that they opened easily with one light push. Grimacing, he turned to the others.

"He's expecting us, be on your guard people." They nodded, some fearfully, and he turned back to the yawning blackness that loomed in front of him. Steeling himself, and letting his expression, as well as his soul, become cold as ice, he walked inside.

"Mommy, can we go now?" A young Ranma whined as he watched his Mother hum to herself while sewing something. She smiled bemusedly at him.

"Now Ranma, we can go to the toy store later, right now I want to see if this fits you…" She held up what she had been working on for the past few days proudly. It was white, little Ranma noticed, and looked like that thing his Dad had worn a bunch of times. Ranma racked his brain, his small childish face twisted in deep concentration, trying to remember what that thing had been called. His Mother smiled and undressed him and put the outfit on.

"There, it's perfect!" She cried, clasping her hands together and smiling at her pride and joy. The gi fit him quite well actually, and he looked so cute in it. It seemed to suit him nicely actually. Just then, Genma walked into the room, and saw his five-year old son clothed in a gi. Grinning, he ran over and examined Ranma.

"Why, the boy was born to wear it! It looks great Nodoka!" He exclaimed while Ranma tugged slightly on one of the sleeves. 

"Yes, it certainly does suit him. My little manly man…" She cooed at him.

"The boy's a born martial artist, and someday, he'll be the greatest of them all!" Genma cried as the two parents looked down at their son, proud expressions on their faces.

One year later, Ranma and Genma set off on that fateful training trip. After bidding his Wife farewell, the heavyset man took his son out of the Tokyo area where they lived, and headed to a nearby forest, where they would camp for the night. Ranma had been constantly in tears since they left the house, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to his Mother. Genma growled as the boy refused to stop crying. Finally, he turned and backhanded Ranma across the face. Sending the boy to the ground, and starting a fresh bout of tears.

"Shut up boy! Stop crying! Only little girls cry! You're a man! Now start acting like it! Or so help me, I'll beat you until you stop!" Genma roared as Ranma stared up at him in fear.

"But-but I miss Mom…" Ranma said quietly. Genma growled.

"You can't ever see your Mother again! Not unless you become the greatest Martial Artist in the world! Understand boy?" Ranma gaped for a few moments, before he wiped his eyes and stood up; ignoring the pain his Father's blow had just caused him.

"Yes, I understand…" 

Ranma blinked as he saw these images play out in front of him. He was in some sort of endless black void, just like the one he had been in when entering Hell.

"But why am I seeing this?" He wondered.

"Why these memories?" He sighed and blew out a breath of air.

"That's why I always have to be the best…" He whispered.

"That's why I can't ever let myself lose, because if did. If I was ever worse than someone else, then my whole life…" He bowed his head.

"My whole life would be a joke…utterly worthless…All that pain and suffering during the training trip, all of it would be worth nothing if I wasn't the best…" He lifted his head, and his eyes showed an amount of pain and suffering that he had been harboring inside of himself for a very long time. He noticed that the images of the training trip had faded away, and in their place, was various people he knew. His fiancées, enemies, the people from school, people he hadn't seen in years, his family, even people like Herb and Saffron stood there, silently staring at him. 

"What do you want from me!?" He cried exasperated. 

"Why won't you leave me alone!?" It was his Mother who spoke.

"You've failed my son. You are no man, just a weak, pathetic, girl…" He winced with every word, and suddenly found himself in female form. His Father spoke next.

"You're worse than I am boy! At least I never lead women on, or used my cursed form to win fights, or…" 

"Shut up!" Ranma screamed angrily.

"You're the cause of over half my problems and faults in the first place old man!" Akane smirked.

"There you go again Ranma…Always blaming others for your own shortcomings, never seeing the truth…" She spat angrily. 

"You're one to talk!" Ranma yelled at her as he felt the anger continue to fester in his soul, and old wounds start to open up. Saffron spoke next.

"You killed me boy. You, a mere mortal, slew a God, without remorse. You aren't even human. You're a freak. An obscenely overpowered, sex-changing, macho freak!" Ranma closed his eyes tightly and willed them to go away.

"Stop it, please stop…" Was his whispered reply. Nabiki smirked at him as well.

"You know what the funniest part of all is Ranma?" Ranma clutched his ears and tried to block them out, but their voices echoed in his brain anyway. Ryoga picked up where Nabiki left off.

"The funniest part of all Ranma, is that no matter how strong or powerful you become, something as simple as the truth and the words of others can defeat you every time…" Ranma looked up and glared.

"That's your truth! I may have my faults, but I still try to do what's right! I even help you Ryoga! Even when you swear to kill me every other day!" Ranma faced them defiantly, that is until he heard the one person speaking that hurt most of all.

"There you go again, deluding yourself like always…" Ranma watched with a sick feeling in his stomach as Kasumi stepped into view, still smiling as always. Even when cutting him to the soul with her words.

"You're still that scared, frightened little boy your Father dragged away from your Mother, and threw into the pit…" She said in a sweet tone of voice. Ranma slumped and whispered.

"Not you too…" Kasumi continued on unabated.

"Your sins are heavy Ranma. You're a delinquent, a cross-dresser, a Casanova, a thief, a murderer, you're constantly stepping on others to get what you want, and worst of all…" Ranma almost started to cry, hearing these things coming from Kasumi's mouth.

"Please, no, don't say it…" He yelled desperately. She didn't even seem to hear him.

"Worst of all, you…killed…Belldandy!" Ranma clenched his eyes shut and this time a few tears did slip by. He clutched his head as if in pain.

"NO!!!!!! I didn't…It wasn't my fault…" Kasumi scowled, which of course was a shocking sight.

"Now you won't even admit to your crimes!? I think Hell is a fitting place for you Ranma!" She yelled. Ranma whimpered and he wished it all away. Then he heard a voice. It wasn't angry, or hateful. It was sweet, beautiful, and kind. He felt the darkness inside of himself recede when he heard that voice.

"Never give up Ranma…" Ranma's eyes snapped open, and he stood. With a defiant expression on his face, he stared back at the faces of all the people he had somehow, in one way or another, affected in his life.

"No, I didn't kill Belldandy. She's still alive, and I'm going to get her back, and no one, no one is going to stop me!" With that, he launched his fist at the shocked face of Kasumi, and saw the images shatter into a million pieces as it struck. The blackness disappeared, and he found himself in an ornate, gothic chamber, with statues and paintings of people in terrible agony arranged around the room. All of them depicted people being flayed alive. Ranma clenched his fists, absently noticing that he was male again, and whipped his head around, searching for his nemesis.

"Where are you Brahm! I know you're there! Show yourself!" A deep laughter echoed around the room, and in a puff of smoke, Brahm appeared in front of him, smirking slightly.

"Well well, I am impressed, you managed to not only enter Hell unscathed, but actually got all the way to my sanctum, and conquered the little trap I had set for you. I really didn't expect you to get this far mortal, though it pleases me that you did." Ranma growled angrily.

"You caused that illusion! You bastard!" Brahm crossed his arms.

"Yes, it was an illusion, but you know, it did not lie. What you heard and experienced. All of that was real. All of that was the truth. I must say, you are obviously incredibly self-deluded if you managed to get past it without cracking." Ranma grit his teeth.

"You're the one who's deluded! I'm going to make you pay for all you've done Brahm!" The Demon First Class smirked again, and snapped his fingers.

"Let's not be so hasty mortal…" In another puff of smoke, several pyres appeared around the room, and atop them, were the others, his friends and family. Ranma turned back to Brahm and glared with hatred at his foe.

"You son of a bitch…" He whispered. Brahm's smirk grew wider at his words.

"Ha ha ha, what's wrong mortal? I thought you were the best?" He snapped his fingers again, and tiny flames began to burn at the bottom of the pyres. 

"Defeating me, and saving your friends before they are burned alive should be easy for one such as you. The great Ranma Saotome! The slayer of Saffron!" Ranma glared, and Brahm's eyes narrowed.

"By the way mortal, if you're wondering where your precious Goddess is, well, I have her soul right here…" He held up the bottle from before.

"And I have her body somewhere else, but if you can beat me, I will give her to you, no strings attached…" Ranma narrowed his own eyes to slits, and got into a ready stance. This was it, the final battle. And his friend's lives, as well as the very soul of someone even more special to him, hung in the balance.

"Let's go…" He whispered.

Author's Notes: Hoo boy, I'm tired. After Finals, end of the year projects, and a reunion, I need a rest. Anyway, now that it's summer (finally) I can really start whacking out chapters of this and my other works. As many can relate, school is the number one cause of delays and writer's block for me. But now that I have a measly 2 months or so off, I hope to get a lot of work done on this and other stories of mine. Okay, it's almost done, as you can probably tell, this fic is heading towards its conclusion. I hope you liked this chapter, as I tried to put a lot of thought into it, especially some of the emotional reactions. I hope it meets, at least somewhat, with your approval. As for my representation of Hell, well, I just wanted to try something different from the norm. I don't know how Hell is depicted in the actual AMG manga, but I hope this one wasn't too bad. And I added Ukyo, Shampoo, Mousse, and Konatsu at the request of a friend, so hopefully that's alright with you all. Right, I think that's all, once again I'd like to thank the various other sites that host my work. For links, look back at the previous chapter. Any questions, comments, or whatever? Please, send them to me. Even negative ones are fine, as long as they are at least explained. Nothing more annoying than an unlit flame. Although I will, as always, address negative comments in a future chapter and answer to them to the best of my ability. Oh yeah, and if you're reading this on Fanfiction.net, please review. I'd appreciate it a lot. Thank you. Until next time then….


	8. The Truth About Kasumi: Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff…

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff…

Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!

The Truth About Kasumi 

By Gray (Not "Gary")

(Sorry, little joke you might not get unless you go to the Church of Kasumi and Ranma.)

"Let's go…" Ranma whispered in a hard voice laced with determination. As he faced off against Brahm, the First Class Demon who made even Saffron seem weak in comparison, the only thing going through Ranma's head was stopping this monster and saving his friends. It didn't matter that Brahm was an immortal, that he could dispel the most powerful Hiryu Shoten Ha Ranma had ever thrown, or that he was fighting the Demon on his home turf, Hell itself. None of this mattered to the pig-tailed youth. He would save the others, and Belldandy's soul, even if it killed him. Brahm smirked slightly, and held up a hand, burning with hellfire. Ranma tensed, ready to dodge at a moment's notice. Brahm's smirk grew wider, and with lightning speed, he threw the fireball forward, aimed at Ranma's head. Ranma's battle-hardened reflexes saved him once more, as he sidestepped the burning projectile, and came up in a defensive stance. The next blast almost hit him, but he managed to duck it, only to flip off of his arms to avoid another. Soon it became a matter of Brahm firing off blaze after blaze of potent fire, and Ranma narrowly avoiding getting crispy-fried by them. Gritting his teeth, Ranma sought an opening, but unfortunately, none came. He was running out of time. His friends were going to die, burned alive by the flames rapidly licking up the sides of the pyres they were tied to. Spinning to the side to dodge another shot, Ranma took a chance, as he was spinning, he charged a low power Mouko Takabisha in his hands, and as he completed the spin, he fired it off at Brahm in one smooth motion. This caught the Demon completely off guard, and he was struck by the ki-blast in the chest, although it didn't do very much damage. This didn't matter however, as it gave Ranma the opportunity to use Brahm's momentary inattention to surge forward and use his favorite close-range attack.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" He cried, as his trademark attack was unleashed upon the Demon. After finishing emptying over 700 high-speed, full-strength blows into Brahm's stomach, Ranma leapt backwards, and landed in a defensive stance. Brahm cursed and shook off the attacks. Ranma grimaced as he realized his attack had little effect on the mighty Demon First Class. 

"Guess I might have to use that technique after all…" He thought to himself. Brahm laughed at the serious expression on his face.

"Do you honestly think you can beat me mortal? Do you have even the slightest inkling of how powerful I am? Even if we were fighting on the mortal plane you would die, but I am at my peak here in Hell, and to put it bluntly, you don't even have a chance!" The blonde man then concentrated for a split second and created a dome of flame to appear around Ranma. The dome then began to shrink. Inside the makeshift flame cage, Ranma gritted his teeth and desperately sought a way to get out. Outside, Brahm laughed again as he watched the fire begin to close around Ranma. He would enjoy watching the annoying youth being flayed alive. His screams would be most satisfying. Just as it looked like the flames would overtake Ranma, a cry echoed forth, and a large tunnel of wind erupted into existence, extinguishing the flames in seconds. Leaving Ranma standing where they had once been, his fist raised in the air in an uppercut position. Lowering his fist, Ranma turned to Brahm with a murderous expression on his face.

"I'm going to end this now Brahm! No more games! No more messing with my head! And no more threatening my friends!" With that said, he concentrated for a moment, and thrust his hands forward.

"Ha!!!" He yelled as ki energy exploded from his palms. But it didn't stop with just one blast. His hands picked up speed, reaching amaguriken levels in seconds, and soon hundreds of small ki blasts erupted towards Brahm in a machine-gun fashion. Brahm staggered under Ranma's assault, and gasped as real, honest to goodness pain began to erupt in him. Ranma continued to pour energy into his attack, knowing that he had to put the Demon down quickly, as the flames on the pyres continued to slowly climb higher. He grit his teeth as he felt his large amount of ki begin to dwindle with each passing second of his new attack. Combining the Amaguriken with the Mouko Takabisha had been a good idea, but he knew it was a gamble. Simply because of all the energy it drained. Still, it looked like Brahm was weakening, and so he poured it on, hoping for a miracle.

"I won't lose!" He swore angrily to himself as he continued to pump out more energy. 

Brahm cursed as he continued to feel the impudent mortal's blasts strike his by now pained body. The fact that a mortal could generate this much power was mind-boggling. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered. 

"Why hasn't he tired out yet? Where is he getting all of this power from?" The Demon wondered as he was buffeted by explosive ki blasts. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the assault began to lessen, until finally, it was over. Brahm smirked to himself, and stood.

"C'mon damn it! Don't stop now!" Ranma thought to himself as he willed his body to hold on and give him more strength. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as his tired body finally gave out, and he felt the enormous amount of drain an attack like the one he had just executed inflicted. He watched with gritted teeth as the Demon stood to his full height and walked over towards him, smirking all the way. After getting to about arm's length with him, Brahm raised his leg, and with stunning speed, smashed it upside Ranma's head, sending the pig-tailed boy sprawling onto the ground. Shaking his head, Ranma managed to get onto one knee and glared up at the towering Demon who stood over him. Brahm laughed at Ranma's face, and walked closer.

"So, do you finally realize the folly of trying to defeat me mortal? I am not some weakling dragon half-breed prince, or some stupid low-level demigod with bad taste in hairstyle. I am a Demon First Class, First Category, Unlimited. In other words, I am your better!" Ranma bowed his head, obscuring his face from view, though Brahm could clearly see his fists clenching. Then, surprisingly, the pig-tailed one spoke.

"Funny, that's exactly what they all said too…" He said in an almost conversational tone, before suddenly propelling himself forward, slamming his head into Brahm's stomach with enough force to shatter stone with ease. Brahm felt his breath leave him, and his face twisted in fury. After completing the move, Ranma back-stepped, and got into a stance, ready for whatever Brahm pulled. The Demon growled, deep in his throat, and for just a second, Ranma could have sworn he saw…something, instead of a blonde man. Something truly monstrous and evil looking. But it was gone, and standing before him once again was Brahm, his most hated enemy ever. Brahm suddenly surged forward, and before Ranma knew what hit him, he was being picked up by the head, and slammed repeatedly, face first, into the ground, with bone-shattering force.

"Show me the power! Show me the power of humanity that Belldandy believed so strongly in! Show me mortal! Show me why she believed in you!" Ranma just groaned in pain, and Brahm's face twisted even more in anger.

"You pathetic little gnat! I'm going to tear you apart with my bare hands, and feed your remains to the scavengers!" He picked Ranma up again and then slammed him back down.

"I'll slowly flay your skin from your body until it's a puddle on the ground!" Another head-slam.

"I'll crush your bones to dust while you watch!" Yet another face-smash.

"Your screams will echo across Hell for all eternity! And I will listen to them with glee!" 

Meanwhile, Ranma's friends watched, as he was repeatedly smashed into the ground. Akane, Ukyo, Kasumi, and even Shampoo and Nabiki were in tears from all the abuse he was being subjected to, while the men simply winced in sympathy with each impact, and felt their hopes plummet. If Ranma couldn't beat this guy, what hope would they have? Not to mention the fact that the hungry flames were still making slow progress up the tall pyres they were all tied to. For Kasumi, the sight of Ranma getting mutilated by the Demon triggered a pain in her so deep and hurtful that she almost felt every blow inflicted on him.

"Ranma…don't die!" She sobbed.

Brahm, growing tired of smashing the mortal's face in, lifted him up and held him in a crushing grip by the throat. Ranma's face was surprisingly still intact, although blood oozed from a nasty wound on his forehead. His eyes were half-open, and focused on Brahm with hate in their depths. Brahm sneered and began to apply more pressure.

"So how does it feel mortal? To know that you failed? That not only will you die, but your loved ones as well? That because of your inadequacy, the fires of Hell will consume them all! The only thing you've ever been able to do well is fight, and you can't even use that to save them! You can't even save a small group of people! You're worthless! Trash! Garbage!" Brahm then leaned closer to Ranma's face, and smirked slightly.

"And…your Goddess will have the most terrible fate of all, as I imprison her soul in Hell for all eternity!" Brahm then laughed, loudly and snidely, right in Ranma's face. He didn't notice Ranma's expression turning murderous. The youth's blue eyes narrowed to slits, and the anger on his face grew and grew with each passing second. Brahm continued to smirk at Ranma cruelly.

"Or perhaps…I might…use her for "other" purposes…" Brahm said in a smug voice. Then, Ranma snapped.

"NEVER!!!!" Ranma roared as his aura exploded around him and blew Brahm away from him. So intense was the manifestation of the pig-tailed boy's anger and strength, that power began to roll off of him in waves. Brahm barely managed to right himself before Ranma was upon him. With speed that shot past inhuman, and strength to match, the pigtailed one unleashed hundreds upon hundreds of ki-powered punches and strikes that caused the air to become displaced from around them. Roaring in fury from all the punishment his body was taking, Brahm exuded his own aura, made entirely of flame and demonic power. The two auras, one sky blue, the other blood red, clashed in a massive display of power as the two combatants exchanged attacks that created shockwaves from the sheer force generated in their wake. Truly, it seemed that for once, Ranma wasn't holding back. The other members of Nerima could only watch in awe as a display of fighting prowess was demonstrated that they doubted even Happousai or Cologne could hope to match. Of course, the only reason Ranma was even holding his own was because, simply put, he was by far the better fighter in this battle. Brahm, for all his incredible unholy power and strength, barely knew how to throw a punch or kick effectively, while Ranma was a flowing, spinning, whirlwind of martial arts maneuvers that defied description. The living embodiment of the martial arts. Ranma wasn't even bothering to call out attacks any more. Simply intermixing amagurikens with ki blasts, miniature Hiryu Shoten Ha's and even Saotome forbidden attacks. Dozens of wounds were ripped into Brahm's body, but he seemed to barely feel them, instead simply taking the hits and retaliating with his own more powerful attacks powered by magic and his own demonic rage. Then, like a candle flame, Ranma's aura began to flicker, and slowly dwindle in its brightness, as he started to lose strength. The only thing keeping him going this far was his determination and unwillingness to let anything happen to those he cared for. But it simply wasn't enough. Brahm smirked cruelly as he slammed his fist into Ranma's solar plexus, driving the wind from him, and then driving a punishing double-handed hammer blow into the back of Ranma's neck with crushing force. Ranma was slammed into the ground from the sheer power, and as he struggled to get up, Brahm delivered a brutal kick to his ribs, causing him to cry out in pain. Then with an almost gleeful expression on his face, Brahm pointed a finger at Ranma and the youth erupted in flames. Everyone watching gasped at the sight and Kasumi sobbed even louder than the other girls, as they all heard Ranma's terrible screams of agony. Brahm simply laughed and watched with delight as his nemesis slowly burned to death.

"Oh yes, now this is what I call fun!"

Pain…His whole world was pain. Every fiber of his body screamed in endless soul rending pain as he was flayed alive with unholy fire. Even a body as conditioned and strong as his could not withstand the fires of Hell for long, nor the agony that they entailed. As he lay there, having retreated into his mind to try and avoid the pain, the same damned images and voices from his dream assailed him. Coward, weak, pathetic, girly, cross-dresser, transsexual, baka, jock, knave, fiend, pervert… These were the words that they cried as he lay there in pain. So much pain. Though only milliseconds passed in the real world, within his mind, days seemed to go by. All with the same thing. The pain, and the voices. But one voice rang most clearly in the tortured mind of Ranma Saotome. The voice of Kasumi Tendo, the caretaker, the kind one, the angel… her sweet voice echoed the loudest of all in his mind. It said only one thing…

"Failure…" Yes, it called him a failure, she called him a failure. Her kind smile held even as she denounced him. And he believed her. After all, hadn't he failed? Hadn't he lost the fight and doomed his friends, the ones he cared for, to eternal suffering within Hell itself? Yes he had, and as much pain as he was in, both physically, mentally, and emotionally, he knew it was his only way to atone. So he embraced the pain, and screamed even louder.

Outside, Brahm laughed as he watched Ranma burn. Purposely making it as slow as possible to prolong his suffering. Meanwhile, the flames on the pyres were almost upon their intended victims, although the victims could only watch their one last hope slowly burn to death, a taste of what they would soon experience. Kasumi Tendo wept inside and out as she watched him die right in front of her eyes. If only there was something she could do. But what? Upon entering Hell, she had been shown the truth. That she was not even real. The form a Goddess took to fulfill a wish. All her memories, all her hopes and dreams, they were all a lie. They were all fake. Just like her. She bowed her head sadly as tears streamed down her face. Then she heard Ranma's most tortured scream yet, and something within her snapped. A feeling, deep inside her rose up. She felt another presence within herself. One that told her to not give in. Lifting her head, Kasumi watched Ranma's burning body, and desperately tried to give him strength. To somehow give him hope. For she somehow sensed that Ranma had given up. That he no longer wanted to live. She could not, would not allow that. She no longer cared that she was fake, an illusion, all she cared about was helping him. Saving him. Because she knew, she knew that in spite of everything else, her feelings for him were not fake. They weren't an illusion. She cared for, no, loved Ranma Saotome, and right now, he needed her help. And she would be damned if she didn't give it to him now.

"Ranma…"

"Ranma…" He blinked as Kasumi said something new. Or did she? The image of her in front of him continued to call him a failure, yet he heard her voice in another part of him as well.

"Ranma…please, listen to me…" He blinked, and not knowing why, did as this other Kasumi's voice asked.

"You're not a failure, you're not a coward, or a pervert, or anything like that. You're a good person, an honorable person. Someone who fights for what is right with all his strength. You have a good heart, and a kind soul. And don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Do you understand Ranma?" He slowly nodded, feeling some of the darkness within him lift. The other voices, they seemed quieter now, almost like they were slowly getting farther away. Only the good voice remained. The beautiful one. And then he saw her. Belldandy, the Goddess of the present stood before him, yet she kept blurring and becoming Kasumi momentarily, before shifting back to herself.

"Ranma, you must fight it! Fight Brahm's evil! Don't let him win! Please! We're all counting on you!" She paused, and said slightly more quietly.

"I'm counting on you…" He felt a pulsing inside himself. A wall seemed to go down, and a bright light appeared in his mind's eye. He reached out to touch it, and Belldandy came closer to him. She looked straight into his eyes, and kissed him briefly on the lips. She then stepped back, with a determined look in her beautiful eyes that kept changing from blue to green and back again.

"Ranma…don't give up…" And with that, he touched the light, and everything faded away…

"Die mortal! Roast in pain and agony!" Brahm laughed as he enjoyed the barbecue he had created. 

"It seems that Ranma Saotome is not so great after all! The power of humanity is a joke!" He mocked with another laugh. Then, something happened. Ranma's body stopped moving, and he became very still. Just as Brahm was about to call him dead, Ranma began to glow softly. It was faint, but it seemed to draw the eye like nothing else could. Unlike his previous blue aura, the one surrounding his body now was golden, with specks of purest white mixed in. Also unlike his previous one, which was large and raging in its intensity. This aura was calm and flowed around him like a gentle river. It stayed close to his body, merely outlining it, not surrounding it like the other one, and it healed his wounds. Making blackened skin healthy and pink again, and sealing up cuts and slashes that Brahm had caused. Bruises and blisters were healed, and soon the flames surrounding Ranma died out. He lay there for about a moment, still unmoving, with the aura still clinging to him and flowing along his body silently. Then, he got to his feet, and with his eyes closed apparently in concentration, let the aura flow outwards in small slivers. Slivers that, as they passed Brahm, chilled him with their frigidness.

"Cold as ice!" The Demon thought to himself. He watched in further astonishment as they made their way over to the pyres, and actually extinguished the flames that had almost reached the feet of the people tied to them. With that done, the aura retreated back to Ranma and once again outlined his body like a second skin of sorts, before returning to the familiar blue color it was before. Everyone then watched as Ranma's eyes slowly opened. They were as blue as always, but something else shone in them now. It was hard to describe, but it looked like a cool mist of sorts. A frigidness that seemed to freeze all it encountered in its gaze. And right now, it was locked onto Brahm. The Demon shivered slightly, unsure why as he stared into those depths. Then Ranma spoke. His voice almost dead.

"I will end this now Brahm…It's time I made you pay for your crimes…" He then got into a combat stance that emphasized speed, though Brahm knew nothing of this, only that this foolish mortal was causing him more trouble than any Godling he had ever met. 

"How did he create this new aura? What is giving him all this power? How could he…Of course!" Brahm smirked slightly as he figured it out. He pointed an accusing finger at Ranma, who regarded him coolly.

"She's helping you! That's it isn't it! The Goddess is aiding you! Belldandy is giving you this power!" He cried with an angry scowl on his face signifying his displeasure at this turn of events. Ranma smirked, barely.

"Heh, you're half-right…" Ranma held up a hand and in it energy began to collect. Energy that seemed to make the very space it inhabited frigid as ice. Brahm's eyes widened in surprise. Ranma nodded at his unspoken question.

"That's right…it's the soul of ice…taken to the next level!" Ranma then made a sweeping motion with his hand, and the Demon barely leapt back to avoid a freezing blast of compressed air from hitting him. Snarling, Brahm summoned another fireball and raised his hand in a throwing position. Ranma smirked faintly and did the same, though his hand swirled with cold ki. The two silently watched each other for a moment, before Brahm roared and threw. Ranma silently did the same. The two energies collided between them and it was unclear which would overwhelm the other, but then they simply cancelled each other out. Growling in frustration, Brahm tossed several more gouts of flame, all of which Ranma stopped with his icy ki blasts. 

"What did you mean earlier when you said I was half-right about the Goddess helping you mortal?" Brahm asked as he started to summon a more potent method of attack.

"I meant that Belldandy isn't supplying me with this power, she merely opened the door within me to use it…" Ranma answered back calmly as he also began to charge up his ki, letting his tightly focused aura out a little more as he collected energy from his body. The build up of energies was causing a rather impressive light show, and the spectators could only watch in awe. Kasumi had her head slumped slightly, and watched the battle wearily, feeling very tired since establishing that link with Ranma. She blinked as she thought that. It was the Goddess Belldandy who established the link wasn't it? She didn't… She was interrupted from her thoughts as she noticed that Ranma and Brahm had finished building up their energies and were facing each other solemnly. It seemed that the battle had moved onto the next level, as both opponents were silent now. They regarded each other calmly, not a hint of motion from either. Although Brahm's eyes were burning with flame, and Ranma's were icy blue. Then, like an explosion, Brahm roared and fired off the largest blast of flame anyone had ever seen. It screamed along the ground towards Ranma with incredible speed, and waiting until the last possible instant, the young martial artist leapt up into the air and aimed a finger at Brahm's surprised form. 

"Gotta get this just right…" Ranma thought to himself as he concentrated his collected cold ki into that single finger. 

"Now!" He mentally screamed as he fired it all off in one thin burst that shot through the air, freezing it as it went. The small but incredibly cold sliver of ki hit Brahm right in the face. Screaming in pain as the numbing, well below zero temperature worked its way into his brain and very nearly caused him to faint, Brahm desperately clawed at his face as Ranma flipped and landed right in front of him, before pulling his hands back and charging more of his collected ki into his palms.

"Now for the coup' de' grace!" Ranma thought as he thrust his hands forward and unloaded every ounce of the ki he collected beforehand at point-blank range into the Demon. The results were devastating for Brahm, who felt like he was being torn apart by the biting frost. He screamed and screamed as the numbing cold froze him to the core. For a Demon who drew his power primarily from flame, this was the worst kind of attack. Ranma regarded him without a trace of mercy. He was beyond that now. The Demon could die for all he cared, in fact, he wished he did. Ranma was sick and tired of holding back, of letting people get away with things they shouldn't. Brahm had threatened all those that he loved, and that would not be tolerated. Finally Brahm collapsed, and Ranma let out a breath of relief, as it seemed to all be over. He was just about to let down his aura and help the others when he detected movement from the form of Brahm. A massive flame aura erupted around Brahm's body and burned away the ice covering him almost instantly. The Demon turned murderous eyes to Ranma and held up a hand again. However instead of flame appearing as before, a mist appeared, one in which he threw in Ranma's face, causing him to cough and close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they widened in shock. Standing before him was the still forms of Kasumi Tendo, and The Goddess Belldandy. Both had their eyes closed, and their heads bowed. Brahm stood behind them with a subtle smirk on his face, normally straight blonde hair in disarray from all the fighting.

"Alright mortal, you win, I'll give you what you want. However, I have a new rule I want to add to our little game…" Brahm said as he crossed his arms. Ranma clenched a fist.

"What are you up to Brahm?" Ranma questioned as he watched the Demon warily. Brahm shook his head.

"No tricks mortal…I merely want a choice from you…" He pointed to both women in turn.

"Pick one…and only one…you must decide which one you want…Kasumi Tendo, or the Goddess Belldandy…The other must remain here…" Ranma clenched his fists angrily.

"How can I possibly make that sort of decision, and besides…" Ki filtered out of his eyes menacingly.

"You're in no position to make any sort of demand Brahm!" The Demon laughed lightly at that, and pointed a finger which burned with flame at Kasumi, who was unconscious and tied to the pillar, while he held up the bottle containing Belldandy's soul in his other.

"Are you sure about that mortal?" He asked with a smirk, although his power was quite low, he could still kill both of them with ease. Ranma cursed and grew slightly suspicious.

"I thought Belldandy's soul was in that bottle!" He didn't trust the Demon at all. Brahm smiled, and it was not a nice smile. He held up the bottle in question higher, and the golden mist still swirled within it.

"You mean this? Well, her soul is imprisoned within this bottle, and Kasumi Tendo's body is still tied to the pyre over there." Ranma blinked and looked over to Kasumi's pyre, and sure enough, she was tied to it, though she was unconscious.

"Then how…" He began, only to be cut off by Brahm.

"How is it that they are both here as well? Simple, these are representations of them, not the genuine articles, however if you do not make a decision then I will kill them both!" Ranma absorbed that information and regarded Brahm with no small amount of fury.

"You son of a…" Brahm cut him off again however.

"Enough! Make your choice before I grow impatient!" The Demon said with a dangerous edge in his low voice. Ranma's head whipped back and forth between the two as he desperately tried to think of what to do. Which should he choose? Which did he love? What was he going to…

"Wait a minute…" He thought to himself.

"What am I saying? Which one do I choose? That makes no sense!" He then looked up at Brahm.

"I choose neither Brahm!" He yelled, and was satisfied by the look of shock that passed over the Demon's face.

"What do you mean by that mortal? Would you have me kill them both?" He asked while an aura of flame returned to him. He was puzzled, as was everyone else watching, when they saw Ranma smirk.

"You idiot! How can I choose one of them? The answer is I can't! I can't because Kasumi and Belldandy…Belldandy and Kasumi…it's the same person! They are one and the same!" His aura shot into existence, surrounding him with its power.

"And I will save her!" He roared as he charged forward, and tackled Brahm to the ground. The impact stunned Brahm, and the two representations he had created of Kasumi and Belldandy disappeared. But the bottle he held, it went flying into the air as he flung it away. 

"NO!!!!!!" Ranma cried as he watched it arc through the air, before beginning its inevitable descent towards the ground. It seemed to sparkle as it fell. It shattered with stunning finality upon the ground of Hell, and Ranma felt his heart join it. He slowly got off of Brahm who smirked, and crouched over the tiny pieces that remained of it, and watched as the mist that had inhabited the bottle seemed to caress his arm gently, before fading from view. He trembled, and hot tears threatened to spill past his vision, but he clenched his eyes shut and willed them away.

"No…" He whispered. It just wasn't fair. He had come so far, suffered so much, only to fail. The dream came back to him. In it, he had been asked to choose between Kasumi and Belldandy, and he had been warned that he could not have them both. And it was right. It was also right in another way. He was a failure. He had failed the one person he…

"Why…" It came out very quietly. He clenched his fists and his eyes, and his body trembled much more violently.

"WHY!!!!!!!!!" He screamed as his aura exploded around him with a huge roar of power to accompany it. Getting to his feet, he turned dark eyes towards Brahm, the source of his misery. The cause of all his pain. 

"Brahm…I swore I would end this…" He said in a cold voice, as his aura seemed to grow even larger.

"And I will keep that promise! As well as avenge her!" He roared as he dashed towards the Demon and immediately began to try and rip him apart. He no longer cared. Nothing mattered except utterly destroying the Demon who caused all this. Even if he died in the process, Belldandy would be avenged. A particularly nasty ki powered haymaker slammed into Brahm, and Ranma felt a grim satisfaction at hearing bone cracking. Meanwhile, Brahm winced in pain from all of Ranma's blows. He was beginning to run very low on energy, and cursed the fact that a mortal could do all this to him.

"I still don't understand how a mortal could be this strong? What is his secret? Why is he so powerful!" A devastating kick from Ranma impacted Brahm's ribs, and he could swear that a few broke. Spitting blood, Brahm got mad, very mad. Some say that anger is the strongest emotion, simply because it is arguably the most intense. Anger is the body's way of defending itself usually as it makes for an excellent weapon. But when a Demon gets angry, it becomes much more than that. As Brahm felt the familiar and comforting rage fill him with strength, he lifted his head back and cried out in joy, though it sounded more like an anguished scream. The ground beneath him buckled under his power as his aura created a small crater where he stood. It's intensity so great that he could melt steel just from contact with it. Ranma had safely backed away the moment he sensed the Demon's power growing. It was beginning to annoy him that no matter how many deadly attacks he administered upon Brahm, the First Class simply refused to be beaten. He didn't know that the same thoughts about him were echoed by the Demon he faced. 

"I now understand why Saffron fell to you mortal…Why even a God could not defeat you…you possess a great power, and one I do not understand but cannot deny…" Brahm said in a voice that sounded oddly cold to Ranma's ears. 

"But regardless of that, I am far more powerful than the Phoenix God could ever hope to be…" Brahm said as he let his flame aura engulf even more space as it swelled in strength. He then held up both hands, and let the power flow into them. The burning fury he held for the mortal kept in check through sheer willpower.

"Now…you will die…I no longer care about anything else except bringing about your death! It is the only thing that will bring me joy anymore! I will kill you!" Brahm snarled hatefully.

"Those are my words!" Ranma growled in return as he prepared for whatever Brahm threw at him. The Demon did not disappoint as he created a wall of flame to surround them, serving as a sort of arena. 

"Now…Die!!!" Brahm cried as he unleashed a massive flame storm. Fiery shards of fire rained down on Ranma who desperately tried to dodge it all. Brahm snarled again and raised a hand, and suddenly pillars of fire erupted from the ground, barely missing the blur that was Ranma Saotome. The combined attack was almost too much for the martial artist, but his will to see vengeance wrought upon the Demon kept him going. Deciding that he couldn't dodge forever, Ranma charged ki into every part of his body and crouched slightly. Brahm saw this and just as a pillar of flame was about to erupt from under him while a burning molten rock was about to rain down upon him, Ranma called out his attack.

"Saotome Final Attack! Soul of Ice!!!" He rose to his feet and clenched his fists and eyes shut as cold ki erupted from his every pore and spread out in a wave of pure frigid power. 

"ARGHH!!!" Ranma yelled as his body served as a living battery for all the ki he was channeling. The massive amounts of energy threatened to tear him apart, but still he held on. Refusing to surrender to the darkness that lurked at the edges of his vision. Finally, unable to handle releasing any more energy, Ranma's body gave out, and he fell to his knees, barely conscious. Looking up weakly, he noted with satisfaction that Brahm was on his back and still. Perhaps he had finally killed him? He certainly hoped so. He had never wanted to kill again after Saffron, but that was before Belldandy had died. The others rushed up to him, and he desperately tried to remain awake. 

"They all look so tired…" He thought to himself as he glanced at each of their faces in turn. Then he saw a sight that made his heart stop. Ryoga held a body. A very special body. It was the body of Kasumi. Getting to his feet, and ignoring the pain it brought, Ranma staggered over to the lost boy, and hesitantly took the body from him. Ryoga's face showed great sorrow, as did everyone else's. Ranma watched her face, beautiful even in death, and brushed a lock of hair from her face. This time, he let the tears come, and as they filled his vision, he repeated one thing in his mind over and over.

"It's not fair…it's not fair…it's not fair…it just isn't fair…" It went on and on, endlessly. After all that, he still didn't win, he still failed. He was still a failure. He couldn't even see her in her true form one last time. It did strike him as odd that she didn't revert to her real form after dying but he didn't give it much thought, he was in too much grief to care. The physical pain his body was in was nothing to the emotional pain he felt. The adrenalin from battle had left him, and now he felt empty. Like his soul had been ripped out, instead of hers. He bowed his head over her body and cried in earnest, not caring what the others might say. They simply took a step back and gave him room. Their eyes all watched him, feeling the helplessness he felt. Ranma cried even harder as the memories they shared came back to him. All those caring words Kasumi had given him, all those comforting moments. All those times where no matter how awful or depressed he felt, she could make him feel better, feel loved. Then he saw all the times he spent with her after he found out she was a Goddess. Eating lunch together, talking on the roof, and watching her as she slept. He felt the tightening of his heart and bowed his head more.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Belldandy… I'm so sorry it took me this long…to realize…that I…" He didn't finish as he felt a feeling…of comfort fall upon him. It was so familiar. It reminded him of her. He gasped as it grew stronger. 

"What…?" He whispered as he saw the golden mist from the bottle hover over the motionless body he held protectively in his arms. It stayed there for a moment, as if watching him, before it began to descend, and enter the body of Kasumi Tendo. Ranma blinked in confusion as his tears still fell. He then watched in awe as the mist finished entering her through the chest area, and gasped as her formally cold body began to grow warmer. Everyone watched in astonishment as her body then began to glow with a golden light. One that encompassed the entire area, and temporarily blinded all present. When his vision finally returned, Ranma blinked back his tears and gasped at the sight before him. Where before he had held the form of Kasumi Tendo, he now held the body of the Goddess Belldandy. And it was so warm! Then…then he watched in disbelief and hope, as her breath returned, and her eyes began to flutter. Not believing his own eyes, and yet letting hope swell in his chest, Ranma gasped as her eyes opened, and he stared into the warm sky blue pools he had yearned for so much. They just stared at each other for a few moments, amidst the gapes and gazes of all present, before Ranma suddenly hugged her to himself. Desperately pressing her light frame to his body as if to confirm through his other senses what his sight was telling him. He inhaled her wonderful scent, and ran his hands through her gorgeous brown hair. He whispered in a thick voice heavy with emotion.

"I thought I'd lost you… I thought you were gone… But you're alive…" He repeated it again as if trying to reassure himself that she was indeed alive and warm in his arms. Belldandy said nothing, content to simply be held by his strong arms. Then she whispered in his ear.

"I was dead…but you…you guided me back…" He smiled at her words. Finally, he stood up, still carrying her, and turned to the others, tears still running down his face, though they were of joy this time and not despair.

"everyone… we did it!" He said with a smile, to which they all returned. 

"It's over…" Ranma thought to himself, and smiled down at the wonderful girl in his arms. Of course, he should have known that nothing in his life was ever that simple… An angry cry of defiance echoed behind them, and they all turned to see a sight out of their nightmares. Brahm stood there, his eyes completely blood red and pupil-less. A raging ball of fire held in each hand.

"You will not escape me!" He screamed to them. Ranma met his gaze with a cold glare, and set the slightly frightened Belldandy on her feet. Without turning away from the Demon, he spoke to the others.

"Get out of here now…I'll take care of him…" Belldandy gasped and took hold of his arm.

"Ranma no! Don't…" He silenced her with a finger to her lips, and smiled his familiar cocky grin.

"Don't worry…Ranma Saotome never loses right?" He then ran towards Brahm. He turned towards them all one more time.

"Everyone! Take care of her!" He then turned back to his greatest foe, and his face became grim. Brahm smirked, though it was slightly maniacal. It seemed that he had finally gone over the edge. Ranma showed no fear as he leapt towards the Demon. Belldandy watched with a sickening feeling in her stomach as he charged into battle.

"He isn't going to come back…and he knows it!" She turned to the others.

"We have to help him!" She cried. Ryoga shook his head.

"Ranma knows he can't win…I could see it in his eyes…he isn't expecting to come back from this alive…" Belldandy stared at the fanged one wordlessly, and turned back only to see Ranma get violently smashed into the ground by a force bolt from Brahm. Ranma struggled to get up, and was hit by a flame blast for his troubles. Belldandy desperately wished she could help, but her near brush with death had left her weak and with barely enough strength to move. Ranma was hit with another blast, and his wounded bleeding body tore at her heart. Then, as they watched in awe, he suddenly tackled Brahm to the ground only to have Brahm lift him up by the neck. Ranma sighed sadly and then concentrated.

"Goodbye everyone…especially you Belldandy…I…I'm sorry…this is the only way…" He then grabbed a hold of Brahm's arm as he let out all the remaining ki in his body in one final attack that began to freeze he and Brahm completely. Brahm gasped as the numbing cold assaulted him.

"No! What are you doing!? We'll both be…ARGHH!!!!" The Demon screamed as the cold overtook him and Ranma smiled sadly.

"It ends here Brahm…I won't let you hurt anyone else whom I care for…" He said just as the cold overtook him as well. Standing there before the others was a statue, made entirely of ice. Frozen in their polar tomb forever, were Ranma and Brahm. Belldandy ran up to it and slammed her hands weakly against the solid ice.

"No no no!" She cried as tears streamed down her cheeks. Akane bowed her head to hide the tears.

"Ranma…you jerk…I never even got to tell you…" She thought to herself as the visions of a happy life with him faded away into nothingness. Ukyo sobbed openly and didn't protest as Konatsu put his arms around her to try and offer comfort.

"Ranchan…" She whispered. Shampoo held her head up; even with her own tears rolling off.

"Ranma…Shampoo will never forget…" She said, trying her best to be a proud Amazon warrior, and failing miserably. Mousse watched his beloved sadly and bowed his own head in a sign of respect.

"Saotome…no… Ranma…I swear I will try to be at least half the man you were…" He thought to himself. Genma and Soun each felt a great loss in their hearts. For Genma it was the loss of a child and student, for Soun it was the loss of one whom he had grown to think of as the son he never had. Nabiki said nothing, unable to believe that the invincible Ranma Saotome was really gone; as she remembered all the things she had done to him to make a quick buck. Ryoga walked up to the frozen statue and whispered familiar words.

"Shi Shi Hokodan…" He fired the ki blast at the icy tomb, and cursed to himself angrily as it failed to even leave a dent. He was about to try again when Belldandy stopped him.

"It's no use…" She whispered.

"Ranma has sealed himself and Brahm using his own life-force. It's impossible to break him free." She then broke down once more, leaving Ryoga to stare at the sadly smiling face of his rival, frozen in time forever.

"Ranma…you always had to be the hero didn't you?" He bowed his head and cursed himself as he felt a few tears come.

"Why? You were my rival, enemy, hated foe…" He then lifted his head, and tried to smile at Ranma's face.

"And most of all…my friend…" He briefly recalled all the memories he had of the pig-tailed youth who, like it or not, had always been so central to his life. This time though, he saw them all in an unbiased light. He bowed his head again and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I wasted so much time…so much time in which we could have been friends…" He then looked up again.

"But you never thought of me that way, huh Ranma? You always thought of me as a friend, even when I was trying to kill you…" Ryoga then bowed low to Ranma in a sign of respect, and turned away.

"Sayonara Ranma…my friend…" Only Belldandy was left standing near the statue. Everyone else had stepped away to grieve in their own ways. Something inside her was dying, but she didn't care anymore…all that mattered was him, and he was gone… She remembered a time when her sister Skuld has asked her why she thought so highly of mortals when all they ever did was act childish and bring ruin upon themselves. At the time she had been unable to answer. But now, now she could answer. Looking at Ranma, she knew why mortals were so special…why not even a mighty Demon like Brahm could crush the human spirit. It was because humans didn't let things like their own mortality stop them from fulfilling their dreams. From doing what was right. There were bad ones as well as good of course. It was human nature to be evil and vindictive, but that was only one side of a coin. The other side showed that they could accomplish great things with very little. That they could come together in times of need and work for a better future for their offspring. Ranma possessed all of these qualities and more. But most of all, he never gave up when the going got tough. Another memory tickled Belldandy's mind.

"You're always there to catch me when I fall Belldandy…"  "I think we catch each other…" 

She gasped as she recalled their talk on the rooftop, and everything else they had shared together. A sense of determination filled her, and her face hardened.

"I will not let you die Ranma…It's my turn to catch you now…" She closed her eyes, and concentrated. Willing her power as a Goddess into freeing him from the icy prison of his own making. The glow that surrounded her was golden and warm. The others watched it in awe as it slowly spread and began to engulf the portion of the ice that imprisoned Ranma. Sweat pooled upon her face, but she didn't stop. Slowly, and seemingly taking an eternity, the ice began to melt. Everyone gaped in awe. Belldandy's bit her lip unconsciously as the strain grew greater.

"Ranma…come back to us…come back to…me." The golden energy continued its work slowly, and for a moment it looked like it would fail. But then, then it finished, and the ice around Ranma melted entirely. Freeing him. He fell to the ground in a heap, and Belldandy collapsed next to him. The strain of using her power almost too much to bear. She really needed some sleep. But she didn't care. Crawling over to him, she took his hand and held it to her cheek, willing him to live. More energy flowed from her body into his, and everyone let a smile reach their face as Ranma began to cough several times. Belldandy herself, tired as she was, had the biggest smile of all. Ranma weakly opened his eyes, and gazed at everyone crowding around him, before turning hesitantly to Belldandy's tear-stained smiling face. Trembling a bit, and feeling weak as a baby, he reached up and brushed some tears from her face.

"I…made you cry…I'm sorry…" He whispered. It was too much for her and she buried her head into his chest, soaking his ripped and ruined shirt with tears. Ranma just held her and gazed up at everyone's faces. Slowly, a smile broke upon his own.

"It's over…it's finally… really… over…" He said as he closed his eyes and continued to hold Belldandy, his Goddess, in his arms. The others cheered and laughed happily. The girls hugged each other, even the fiancée's, and all was right with the world. Then a puff of smoke appeared, and a woman appeared. She was blonde and had markings on her face similar to Brahm's. She also radiated evil, though not on Brahm;s level. Everyone got into defensive stances, and Ranma and Belldandy stared at her questioningly. She smirked and strolled over to the still frozen Brahm.

"Heh, always knew you'd get what was coming to you Brahm… and in such an ironic way too…" She laughed slightly and then turned to Belldandy.

"Mara…what are you doing here?" She asked calmly, though she was a bit afraid that the Demoness might use her weakened state to her advantage. Mara held up her hands in a placating gesture.

"Whoa whoa, peace! And as for what I'm doing here, well this is Hell ya know. I am a Demon…duh." Belldandy blinked, as did everyone else, while Mara sighed.

"Geez, tough crowd…okay then…" She crossed her arms and smirked at Ranma, though it resembled a bit of a leer to Belldandy.

"I'd first of all like to thank you Ranma…Thanks to you, we can finally nail Brahm for all he has done…" This made Belldandy clearly puzzled.

"What do you mean Mara?" She asked curiously. Mara smirked wider, making Ranma nervous for some reason.

"Well, we've been meaning to punish Brahm for a while now, because to put it bluntly, he makes other Demons look like saints in comparison. I mean the guy doesn't even care if Demons die when he goes off on God killing missions! Unauthorized I might add. And now, now he's brought several mortals into Hell without proper clearance from the higher-ups, and they ain't pleased…lemme tell ya!" Everyone just continued to stare at her oddly, before Belldandy finally spoke up.

"So…you mean Brahm was a renegade?" Mara nodded her head.

"For lack of a better term yes. He broke the rules one too many times, and as much as we were willing to overlook it because of his first class status…his limit has been reached and exceeded, and it's time for him to pay up!" So saying, Mara snapped her fingers, and the still frozen Brahm disappeared in another puff of smoke. Blowing imaginary smoke off of a finger, Mara then turned to Ranma again.

"Well, as thanks for what you did for us, I am prepared to grant you a wish and…" Belldandy cut her off quickly, laughing nervously all the way.

"Heh heh, that won't be necessary Mara, could you just send us home please?" Mara blinked in confusion for a moment, before nodding.

"Well, okay if you insist… She then raised her arms, muttered a few words, and a portal similar to the one Brahm had created previously appeared in front of them.

"There ya go, a one-way trip back to the mortal realm, now departing." She then disappeared, though her voice lingered in their minds.

"Chow kids! And treat her right Ranma!" This caused Ranma and Belldandy to blush a bit, as did one other comment Mara said only in Belldandy's mind.

"Shoulda known you'd get a hunk before me Belldandy! Good luck with him!" And then she was really gone. They all smiled and took turns entering the portal. Ranma and Belldandy were last, and they lingered for a bit longer, staring at each other, before Ranma made a go on gesture with his arm.

"Lady's first." He said with a mock bow, to which she smiled.

"Why thank you sir! But since when did you become so well-mannered?" He chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment to which she giggled. His face then grew tender, and he held out a hand to which she took. Smiling warmly at her, Ranma spoke.

"Let's go home Belldandy…" She smiled in return.

"Yes…let's go home Ranma…together…" 

Author's Notes: Ok…it's done…finally…the longest chapter I have ever written for any story is finally completed. Whew, now to sleep. Anyway, hope you liked it, but even if you didn't let me know, positive and negative criticism and comments will be accepted as per usual. If you're wondering about the Saotome Final Attack revised having nothing to do with the old one, well, this new one is Ranma's final attack, not his Dad's. Hence it is different. It's basically a real final, all powerful attack, and not another way to run. Well, I hope that doesn't sound too odd. Oh yeah, and look for an epilogue to be released shortly. Well, that's all for now…


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: You should know what goes here by now, so I won't even bother

Disclaimer: You should know what goes here by now, so I won't even bother.

Ranma ½ and Ah! Megami-Sama!

**The Truth About Kasumi**

Epilogue 

""The More Things Change…"

By Gray 

"Hello, my name was, up until very recently, Kasumi Tendo. I am a Goddess, though also up until a little while ago, I was unable to divulge this information as well as my true name, freely to those whom I live with. That all changed when a certain young man whom I care for deeply discovered my secret. After that, many things happened, too much to go into here, but it is suffice to say that everything turned out for the best. There was a happy ending after all. It is difficult to describe the feelings I have discovered within myself in recent days. First of all, everyone in my "family" now knows what I am, yet they have not forsaken me as I used to believe they would, instead they have continued to treat me as always, which is exactly what I want. It is as if a great weight has been lifted form my soul, as well as my heart. Yes my heart, though I realize that it is frowned upon for Gods and mortals to become romantically involved, particularly in long-lasting relationships, I cannot help the swelling of happiness I get inside when he looks at me with those beautiful eyes of his. Nor can I help the surge of euphoria I feel in my heart when he smiles at me. It is wonderful, I'm not sure I can describe it in any other way. It's as if I finally feel alive, whereas before I had been dead. I'm not yet sure if this is love that I feel, after all, I have never experienced love, but all I know is that I would do anything for him, and that he is the most important person in the world to me. If that is what love is, then yes, I do love Ranma Saotome, I honestly do. What about everyone else you ask? Well, things have pretty much settled down in Nerima, as they always do after a major crisis of some sort, though this is the first time I was at the center of it instead of Akane. Ukyo is still working hard at her restaurant, while attempting to juggle school and her vying for Ranma's affections at the same time."

_ _

"Damn it, Konatsu, I need more shrimp!" Ukyo yelled as she hurriedly whipped up two more okonomiyaki for her hungry customers. God she hated lunch hour sometimes. Although the business was nice. Now if only Ranma would stop by…

"I think she overworks herself sometimes, but then again, I myself have been accused of the very same thing, so I suppose I have no room to talk right? Though I do wish she would take a rest every now and then. Anyway, Konatsu, the world's only male kunoiichi, is still hard at work trying to help his "Ukyo-sama" in her business, while also trying to gain her love in his own quiet way of course.

_ _

"I am here Ukyo-sama! I'll get that shrimp as soon as possible!" Konatsu yelled as he rushed out the door, leaping by various customers at the "Ucchans" as he did. He did not notice Ukyo shaking her head at him and sighing.

"That guy needs to learn to slow down a little. Just because I yell a lot doesn't mean I don't appreciate what he does for me…" She muttered to herself while fixing another pork okonomiyaki.

"I wonder if he realizes he's a lot closer than he thinks. But then again, that's the nature of relationships in Nerima I suppose. It's just the way things are. Though I think they would make a cute couple. A girl who dresses and acts like a boy, and a boy who dresses and acts like a girl. How perfect is that? Anyway, going down the list, I suppose the Amazons would be next hmmm? Well, they're also working hard at their restaurant, and the Cat Café is as always quite full. Though I suspect the male patrons are there for more then just the good food, well, except for Mr. Saotome, but he's a little different.

_ _

"Two orders of ramen up!" Cologne called as she slung the bowls of hot noodles at her waitress/great granddaughter Shampoo, who caught them with a flourish and caused a number of nosebleeds in the process. She served the customers their ramen and wiped a trickle of sweat off her brow.

"Whew, Shampoo wish lunch rush not be so hard sometimes, though business is nice…" She muttered before noting that Mousse had come back from his deliveries.

"Shampoo, I have returned to you at last, might you greet me with a hug?" Mousse asked while staring at a young man sitting at one of the tables, who looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"Stupid Mousse! Put glasses on before Shampoo greet with fist!" The purple-haired yelled as whacked him with a broom. Mousse placed his glasses on and blinked at the man, before turning at last to his beloved.

"Oh Shampoo! You do care for me! I knew it!" He cried as he opened his arms wide in an attempted glomp, which fell flat much as he did when Shampoo simply tripped him.

"Stupid Mousse, get back to work…" She yelled, before stalking off to get some napkins for some customers.

"Mousse sighed sadly and went to take some orders while Cologne chuckled from her place in the kitchen.

"Hmm, it seems those two will never change…" She said to herself as she stirred some ramen and checked the temperature of the pot it was cooking in. She pointedly ignored the sounds of chaos that were erupting from behind her as Shampoo pounded Mousse into the ground for tripping over a chair and spilling dirty dishes on her.

"I wonder what she sees in him…" Cologne muttered as she spooned the finished ramen into bowls to be served.

"Yes, it seems that those three will never change. As for the Kuno's well, they're as crazy as ever, though it seems Tatewaki has fixated on me now that I have begun to go around in my true form…

_ _

"Come Sasuke! Today we must free my beautiful Goddess of bells from the cursed demon Ranma Saotome! To battle!" The wannabe samurai cried as he charged towards the exit of the Kuno Estate, with his loyal ninja following him closely. Only to trip over a conveniently placed ribbon lying in his path. His sister Kodachi laughed loudly as she twirled it beside her and prance off to no doubt cause mischief.

"I really hate my twisted sibling sometimes…" Kuno muttered from his place on the ground. Sasuke just sighed and wished as always that he didn't have to put up with this.

"I wonder if I should fear for my safety now that he is chasing me instead of Akane? Ah well, I think he's relatively harmless. Anyway, I guess that just leaves the Tendo Dojo right? Well, as I stated before, I can now go about in my true form freely, as my family has now accepted it, and more importantly, Ranma has…

_ _

"Hey, Belldandy! Have you seen my camera! I had some great shots of female Ranma in it!" Nabiki cried as she wandered around the house searching for said camera.

"Oh, I'm sure it will turn up Nabiki!" Belldandy said as she quietly placed the camera she held in sub-space to have the film destroyed later, while giggling slightly as the poor girl searched for her missing photography device in vain. Akane walked in from her workout and got a glass of water to cool herself down.

"Hey Belldandy, what are we having for dinner tonight?" She asked while pouring the crystalline liquid into a cup.

"Oh, I'm not quite sure yet, but I'll think of something Akane…" The resident Goddess replied as she walked out into the living room. On the patio, as always, were Soun and Genma, playing shogi.

"Ah, Belldandy! How are you?" Soun asked without looking up from the game.

"Oh, I'm fine Father. Just fine…" She replied before smiling at Genma's face falling as his friend won the game. Shaking her head as Genma called for a rematch, again. 

"I wonder where Ranma is? It's getting late." She thought as she noticed that the sun had begun to set in the sky. Then, she realized where he would no doubt be. Smiling, she concentrated for a moment and levitated up to the roof, seeing the familiar pigtail greet her as she saw him sitting facing away from her, gazing at the horizon with a curious look on his face. He had certainly changed a lot recently. Smiling despite herself, she walked over and sat beside him. He gave no indication of her presence for a moment, instead continuing to look out at the descending sun.

"It's so beautiful…" He whispered at last. Belldandy blushed, wishing he had been talking about her instead of the sunset. He then turned to her, a smile on his face.

"It's funny how you appreciate the things you always took for granted when you almost died…" He said, to which she nodded slightly.

"Yes, it's only natural to enjoy things, and appreciate them, when you came so close to almost losing them…" She trailed off as his face grew slightly more intense.

"R-Ranma, what is it…?" She whispered, surprised at her stutter. His gaze didn't falter, and he seemed to be looking into her soul with those blue eyes of his.

"Appreciate this things I have… Your absolutely right Belldandy…I need to appreciate the things I have, and I have you…" He whispered before trailing off as they gazed at each other, blue eyes both crystalline clear staring intensely into the other's soul.

"Yes, you have me, and I have you…" She whispered, as their faces seemed to grow closer and closer with each passing second. The distance closed, and it seemed inevitable that their lips would meet.

"Bell…" He whispered.

"Ranma…" She replied. They were so close, so very close. Which is why of course, something had to ruin it.

"Where on earth am I now!?" The familiar cry echoed forth from behind them, and they both sighed, as the mood had been broken. Turning, they saw the lost one Ryoga Hibiki standing on the roof sheepishly.

"Er, this wouldn't be Nagasaki would it?" He said while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Belldandy sighed and stood up.

"No Ryoga, it is not, but if you like you may join us for dinner…" She said, before levitating off the roof, but not before giving Ranma one last caring gaze and wistful look, which he returned in earnest.

"Darn…" They both muttered simultaneously.

"Yes, that Ryoga always seems to come at just the wrong time doesn't he? Oh well, he's still a nice person, if slightly strange. Hmm, I suppose that's everyone. Even Ranma seems to be back to normal. Despite his tremendous ordeal, he hasn't let it get to him too much, though he is certainly more protective of me now. It's sweet. And we were so close that time too. Ah well, there will be other times I suppose, and I am patient, after all, I've waited my whole life for someone like him, and I can wait a little longer if need be. Do I love Ranma Saotome? I think I do. Does he love me? I hope he does. Will we ever get together? I pray we do. Will things ever change in Nerima? I doubt it, but you know, I'm sort of glad they don't. The chaos and insanity that defines our little Ward is something everyone has gotten used to. And I somehow think that without it, it just wouldn't feel right. And without the source of it all, Ranma Saotome, I don't think my life would feel complete. He fought a Demon First Class to save me, and as always triumphed over the odds. Ranma Saotome never loses after all. No, he never does, and maybe someday, someday soon, I can be the one who stands by his side. I suppose I can only hope right? Because I am not Kasumi Tendo. At least not anymore. That is my truth. That is the truth about Kasumi…

_ _

_Sincerely,_

_ _

_Belldandy, Goddess First Class, First Category, Limited_

_ _

**Author's Notes/Ramblings: Well, I hope you enjoyed this little series. I tried to put a lot of time into it, and while I am hindered somewhat by my inexperience as a writer I really tried to put a lot of effort in this, particularly in the story and content. This epilogue was written as a sort of winding down from the heavy events of the past chapters, and I hope I succeeded in doing so. But as always it is you who is the judge. So please send any comments, critiques, or whatever else you want, and let me know what you thought. Thank you, and goodnight. (I am very tired right now, I'm going to bed…)**

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